


Bewitched By Those Violet Eyes

by TalesInInkAndStars



Category: Poldark (TV 2015), Treasure Island & Related Fandoms
Genre: 17th century but also modern..., 17th century poetry, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Compulsion, Death, F/F, F/M, I feel this encompasses the whole story, I have decided to rename this story: gay poetry nerds on boats, Kisses, M/M, Steampunk elements, Violence, Witches, badass females
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-05 00:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5353781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TalesInInkAndStars/pseuds/TalesInInkAndStars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>****On Hiatus For Re-writes****</p><p>“You’re one of them.” He breathed. James took a step away from him and nodded.</p><p>“I am.” Ross renewed his grip on the gun and aimed it at the blond’s head. Right between those piercing eyes. “A moment of recognition, you’ve seen my kind before.” James says. Ross nodded.</p><p>“When I was a boy I met a water witch in my home town.” James’s expression cleared.</p><p>“It was the eyes. An unfortunate trait of my kind. We all have them.” The lulling voice and the eyes combined with such beauty had Ross’s breath quickening and his palms damp with perspiration.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Do you believe in good witches?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I know this is a bit late for a greeting on this one but I went back to edit something so hello there.
> 
> Preston and Halford are wonderful OC'S front he amazing My_T_Rex_Has_Fleas, so whilst they are still dating they are not my original character

The docks were still teeming with life when Ross left the tavern and started making his way back to the ship. The night was fast approaching and darkness had started to creep across the horizon, colouring the sky with oranges and pinky hues. They had docked in the town two days before hand and the people residing there had welcomed Ross and his comrades with open arms and flowing ale. He walked slowly, admiring the sea as he ambled past drunken town’s people and, occasionally members of his own crew, anxious to be back on board the Demeter before nightfall.

After one particularly intoxicated individual had almost pushed him off the dock in an attempt to stay upright, Ross happened to glance over his shoulder and froze. He could see the vague outlines of building in the darkening sky, silhouetted by gold as they burned. His breathing quickened as Ross heard the sounds of screams and angry shouts of panic and alarm filled the night sky. The smell of gunpowder drifted through the air around him, like metal and sulphur. It burnt the back of his throat and he raised his arm to cough into the crook of his elbow. He took two steps back towards the tavern to where he knew Preston and Halford were most likely still drinking. A figure strode towards him, the bartender, a giant of a man named Fisher was storming down the docks. 

“Mr Fisher!” Ross called. “What is happening?” Mr Fisher’s head snapped to him and Ross’s eyes widened at the double barrel shot gun he held clenched at his side. 

“Ross? They usually don’t come this far down to the coast but we’ve been hearing some strange tales from a few towns over and now they are here.” Ross’s heart beat fast in his chest, his mind flashing back to every story Preston and Halford had told him on dark nights when all three of them were on watch together, huddled under the candle lights with nothing but the empty ocean and to keep them company. Mr Fisher was already moving off towards the town, loading the gun as he went. Ross drew his pistol and made to follow. 

“Oh. Hello.” Ross whirled with a flash of silver gleaming as the pistol pointed straight at the young man’s head. He wore a blue frock coat and Ross could see the thick golden hair that fell over one shoulder and tied with a ribbon. His face was young and his full mouth was twisted in amusement as he contemplated the end of Ross’s pistol. “Didn’t expect to see anyone down here at this time of night.” His voice was low and sweet, like the lulling of the old lullabies Ross’s mother used to sing to him. The young man looked him up and down, his blue eyes so intense that they seemed to stun Ross’s senses altogether, he felt bare beneath his gaze. Like this man could see straight into his soul. His skin felt sensitive. Ross shivered involuntary. The man noticed, a coy smile quirking on his lips. “Enjoying the view?” Ross scowled.

“Who are you?” he asked firmly. The man’s head tilted and his smile turned sly. He looked up at the sky above them, exposing the pale column of his throat as he did so. Ross’s hand twitched on the trigger. 

“The stars are breath taking tonight aren't they?" His eyes slid from the sky back to him and the moonlight made his eyes seem almost purple, just for a moment. Ross blinked and they were once again blue as sapphires. “Go and catch a falling star, Get with child a mandrake root,Tell me where all past years are, Or who cleft the devil's foot.” 

His tone was almost wistful as he stared up at the night sky, the spattering of stars that dotted the inky blackness. Ross remained quiet for a moment.  
“I always thought them a cold light, remote and far away.” The blond paused, his eyes widening as he stared at Ross. Then he smiled, it was softer than his smirk and Ross felt a rush of warmth even as he tightened his grip on the pistol aimed at the man’s head. He raised an eyebrow and, after a moment the man smiled.

“James. And you are?” Ross’s brows furrowed but he replied.

“Ross.” James smiled at him and inclined his head. 

“Well, Ross this is a predicament, but, since we know each other now could you perhaps lower the gun now?” Ross shook his head slowly. There was a scream in the distance and his eyes flickered to the horizon. The flames were slowly dying out and the air was thick with smoke. His eyes moved back to his hostage and Ross gasped almost dropping the gun in surprise to see James was now two feet in front of him though Ross had not heard him move. The blue in his eyes was gone, replaced with a deep violet that gleamed brightly as he stared into Ross’s own. 

When Ross first saw those eyes he was had been just a child. It was just before he set sail on the Demeter for the first time. He was to be cabin boy under the guard of a nineteen year old Preston. A few days before cast off he had wandered into the woods near his home and had come across a clearing that he’d never found before despite living in the area his whole life. The depths were dark and murky and Ross had been entranced, the water seemed to swirl and coax him in. As he stared into the water he saw a face starring back at him. The face of a young woman with long flowing green hair and skin, moss and algae clung to her as she sat beneath the surface and watched him. Her eyes had been deep violet with not an ounce of human recognition in their depths. Ross had run back to his home without a backwards glance, his heart hammering against his ribs.  
Ross jerked back and the same violet eyes stared back at him with a quizzical stare.

“When I look lower I espy. Hadst thou the wicked skill by pictures made and mard, to kill, how many ways mightst thou perform thy will? You’re one of them.” He breathed. James took a step away from him and nodded.

“I am.” Ross renewed his grip on the gun and aimed it at the blond’s head. Right between those piercing eyes. “Ah, recognition. You’ve seen my kind before.” James says. Ross nodded.

“When I was a child I met a water witch in my home town.” James’s expression cleared.

“The eyes. An unfortunate trait of my kind. We all have them.” The lulling voice and the eyes combined with such beauty had Ross’s breath quickening and his palms damp with perspiration. 

“And who are you to comment on my so called ‘wicked skill’? You don't believe in good witches?” Ross stayed unmoving, gun still trained on the other’s face.  
“The only good witch is a dead witch.” The witch pouted, golden locks creating an obscene innocence in the young man’s appearance, like a child caught stealing a treat. The eyes flashed. The gun wavered. 

“Well that's no fun.” Ross couldn’t control his limbs. He was in amazement as his arms lowered the gun of their own accord and he heard it clatter to the ground beside him. James walked right up to him, eyes still pinning his arms to his sides and reached up to sweep away Ross’s wayward curls from his forehead. “You are a pretty one.” He whispered, stroking Ross’s cheek with one pale hand. The touch was soft and cool. Ross felt himself lean into it, chasing the sensation as the witch pulled away to whisper in his ear. “If they can find him, fair and fresh, and fragrant too, as summer’s sky or purgéd air, and looks as lilies do that are this morning blown yet, yet I doubt he is not known, and fear much more that more of him be shown. But he hath eyes so round and bright, as make away my doubt, where Love may all his torches light, though Hate had put them out; but then t’ increase my fears what nymph soe’er his voice but hears will be my rival, though she have but ears.”

Ross felt his vision fade for a few moments and James’s smirk was back. But a cry startled the blond from his prisoner. Another man, taller and darker materialised from the shadows and scowled at him. 

“Jim, leave the boy alone.” James smiled at his companion over his shoulder and was met with a scathing glare.

“I was only playing, the boy is quite safe.” The dark haired man sighed, shaking his head.

“We have to go. The town’s people are after us. We really should be more careful when planning these outings. They think we are the Dilmoore brothers. They'll kill us if they catch us.” 

“Aye, we will go.” James’s eyes did not leave Ross’s as he responded. The dark haired man looked on for a moment longer before lifting his arms and ascending into the night sky, his cloak flying about him like wings as he hovered above them like a perfect angel of death. James’s eyes returned to their original blue and Ross felt himself go slack, James caught him as his knees went weak and pressed a kiss to his temple and another to his lips. “I should kill thee with much cherishing.Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.”

He smiled and then he too ascended to the heavens, his blue coat extending and morphing until they resembled a pair of fine blue wings which lifted him and his companion into the sky and out, over the ocean. Ross blinked, following the figures as they retreated into the night and then he stretched, testing his limbs before bending to retrieve his pistol and turning to walk back to the Demeter.


	2. Love Struck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halford and Preston know more than they're saying...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well look at that this might become a thing how brilliant! (And terrifying... ) I hope you enjoy it!

The Demeter was in a quiet part of the dock, swaying gently on the waves. With a capacity for over 60 guns, it was the biggest ship in the town’s dock, its hulking mass easily dwarfing the small fishing boats surrounding it. The Demeter greeted him like an old friend, welcoming him aboard by steadying under his feet. On his first few months aboard the ship whenever Ross stepped up onto the deck, the ship would swing suddenly to one side, throwing him off his feet. The rest of the crew had joked that The Demeter needed to get used to him before it stopped teasing and, sure enough, four months into their voyage, the ship stopping tilting when Ross was on deck. He smiled and made his way up and down her sides, stroking the finished wood in greeting.

When Preston and Halford stumbled aboard just as the sun was coming up, Ross was still staring out at the sky, eyebrows knitted in confusion as he realised that he was disappointed that the blond man hadn’t stayed for longer. Halford took off her hat and ran a hand through her short blond hair before walking over to him and slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“Ross? What’s wrong lad you look. Well you look…” Preston paused in taking off her coat to glance over and raise an eyebrow.

“He looks love struck.” Ross jerked his head back in irritation as the two girls chuckled behind him. “Don’t try to hide it Ross, I know what love looks like.” Preston dropped a kiss to Halford’s temple who batted her away good naturedly and threw an arm around Ross’s shoulders. 

“You’ve met someone.” She said. Ross shook his head and stood up. 

“I met a man outside the tavern a few hours ago-” Preston had a sound of congratulations “He was blond and he didn’t look much older than me and his eyes turned violet and I couldn’t move. He flew away over the ocean.” They both turned to look at him, their faces drawn. “-he was a witch Preston….” 

“Come below.” Halford said, taking his hand and pulling him towards the cabin doors.  
Once the door to their cabin swung shut behind them, Preston was instantly upon him, holding his head in place as she looked into his eyes critically. After a long moment, she must have found what she was looking for because she pulled back and pushed her dark hair off of her forehead with a sigh. 

“He sounds like a witch of words.” She said finally. “There is no discolouration in your eyes so there’s no lasting spell.” Ross shook his head, alarmed by the girl’s sudden spur of action.

“I was dizzy but it passed.” 

“You were very lucky Ross, he was interrupted before he could so something to you. I am not sorry that we are leaving in the morning…” Jackie dropped down into the hammock by the window and set it swinging gently as she sat. Billie sat beside her and stroked her hair gently. Ross looked at them as they reclined, slightly intoxicated and seemingly content to drop the subject. He felt restless and the thought of not seeing the strange young man again made him uneasy. All of the stories that they had told him, all the horror and the death but James had only seemed… curious. There was no malicious intent in those eyes, only a quizzical stare. He took the seat from the desk in the corner, scraping it along the floor to pull it up in front of the two women. 

“What is a witch of words? Who was he?” Preston started tying back her hair in an intricate knot.” Billie looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “He wasn’t who the town’s people were looking for. His companion said something about the Dilmoore brothers...” He continued. 

“Who knows Ross? If he is indeed not the one the town was looking for half the night then that is wonderful but there is still no way of knowing what his intentions were.” Ross thought about those eyes, how they’d caressed him as gently as the hands had stroked him and those lips that kissed him. He could have guessed what James’s intentions were. He nodded, standing. 

“And as for a witch of words. Witches have been around for as long is civilisation itself.” Halford said, sitting up to face him. “But different forms of witchcraft have progressed just as humanity has. Back when the ancient Greeks were around a form of witchcraft, known as the ‘Craft of Words’ came into being thanks to a fallen child of Apollo, the Greek god of poetry. As time went on the Norse adopted a similar power from the god of poetry from their time: Bragi. It’s a very old practice of magic that gives the ability to bend others to their will using words. Their magic is similar to that of a siren from mythology, in fact I bet the Siren was just a witch, parading as a mythical creature.” Preston took over.

“They will put you under with their singing and their reciting and then they strike. A witch of words could ask you to kill every member of your family before you and you would do it. Willingly with a smile on your face.” Ross swallowed hard. He had felt the raw power rolling off him in waves but the revelation of just how powerful he was made him shiver. Preston must have seen something in his face as she clapped him on the back and gave him a small smile. 

“Do not worry Ross, tomorrow morning we will set sail and you shall never see him again.” Ross nodded, ignoring the flash of disappointment he felt at the words.  
“How do you know all of this? You’re soldier on a battleship!” Preston grinned at him and tapped her nose. 

“Ross what kind of mysterious and wise teachers would we be if we revealed everything to you the moment you asked?” Ross shook his head, exasperated. 

“I suppose you are right.” He said quietly. “I’m going to bed.” He left them there and started stripping off his clothes and climbed into his bunk. He drifted off with the lull of the ship and dreamed of bright purple eyes and a soft pink mouth.

The next morning, the Demeter left the harbour and set sail into open waters. No one noticed, as it moved away from the docks, the shining sigil left of the ships wood, nor the blond stranger that walked away from the gathering crowds. A mischievous smile on his face.


	3. Pretty Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross takes part in his first battle amoungst the crew of The Demeter and discovers that all is not as it may first appear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This one is a little longer because I can't help myself if a fight scene is involved xD
> 
> This chapter is also un-beta'd as I finished it in school and thought what the hell? So I shall apologise for any errors and if there are any that need to be pointed out to me I would really appreciate it

Four weeks into the voyage Ross was going stir crazy. He often did when weeks past aboard the Demeter without sufficient task to keep him occupied. Four gruelling weeks of nothing but moping decks and helping Barberac and Moncrete in the navigation chamber, charting the stars and studying maps before Captain Harker informed him that he would be allowed to join in the battle once the ship reached dock in the Westland’s in three weeks’ time.

“I am sure you will be ready in time Poldark?” She had said with a smile and Ross had tripped over himself to thank her before running back to his cabin to tell Preston and Halford.  
Ross worked hard in those three weeks. Practicing with his pistols and shorthanded sword day and night until he had to be dragged back to his bunk. When he slept he dreamt of war and of glory and, occasionally, bright purple eyes that would look at him admiringly when he did. 

The Westlands was one of very few settlements still on the earth. Many cities and towns had followed the capital’s example and moved onto engineered floating islands in order to preserve the ground and let it undo all that had been done to it. The air was dry and dusty with lingering pollution. The earth was little more than sand, no nutrients or goodness left in it, and mountains of sand towered above them and babbling brooks that spread over the land like cracks in brick work, the water brown and stinking. Ross followed the rest of the crew as they made their way sluggishly over one mountain and down into a ravine with a river flowing through the bottom. He slid over rocks and boulders as he made his way down and upon reaching the flat surface, promptly collapsed by the side of the river. Billie and Jackie sat heavily on either side of him a moment later, already pulling off their boots and dipping their feet in the water. 

Ross looked around in wonder, he hadn’t been on the surface for years. The air was so still and silent. Ross felt a calm come over him as he starred up out of the ravine at the sky.

“It’s strangely beautiful and sad.” He said quietly. Mist and fog swirled high above him, making the water look murky and opaque. Billie slung an arm around his shoulder and looked up, moonlight dancing on her skin.

“Aye, it is.” They stayed there for a while, the three of them content with leaning back in the sand, their eyes fixed to the heavens.

The faint outline of the Demeter drifted into view. It rose and fell with the wind, like it was riding the waves of the sky. The device strapped to the Captains thigh kept it from drifting too high and escaping the gravity field of the planet so the Demeter simply drifted, floating through the pink sky reminding them that they weren’t alone on this condemned world. 

Eventually, darkness moved over the land and Billie and Jackie got up to pitch the tents, bickering for a solid hour as they tried to decide what went where. Ross experimented with the cooker from his pack, a small round hunk of metal that he really wasn’t sure could cook the meat they’d bought with them from the ship. After wrestling with it for a while he finally got it going and punched the air in triumph. The girls stopped their arguing, Billie’s arms tied together with cord and Jackie brandishing a tent pole like a weapon, and applauded him for his efforts with matching grins.  
When the tent was finally up and stable all three of them crammed inside and ate together.

“The Captain says a whole regiment will be arriving tomorrow morning.” Billie said through a mouthful of food. “They come through this way to harvest water from the brooks and cleanse it back on their ships. They dry up the river beds, leaving none for any others traveling through. We should be able to ambush them as they stop for their collection.” Ross nodded, the first tendrils of worry curling in his gut. Jackie snuggled down into her bunk and pulled up the blankets.

“It’s a big day tomorrow Ross. Better get some sleep.” He spent hours lying awake and staring up out of the bunks roof, up into the night sky.

Ross was awoken by the sounds of shouted orders and people splashing through the river. Stumbling out into the morning air he came face to face with a short stocky man with greying hair and a massive machine gun strapped to his side. Ross yelped and reached for his own pistol before Jackie’s hand caught his own. 

“The field is still up,” she murmured, “they can’t see or hear you.” Ross swallowed and re-holstered his gun. He could see it now, the shimmer to the air like a soap bubble surrounding the crew of the Demeter. Ross reached out his hand and brushed against it, feeling only the smallest pressure of resistance.

The ravine was full of men and women, all wearing a regimented uniform that Ross was unfamiliar with. The coats were a deep maroon, like crushed grapes or dried blood. They were setting up machines all along the rivers surface. Long pipes twisted and rusted with age that seemed to have descended from the heavens. Ross craned his neck and looked up, noticing a small shape tethered to the top of a mountain far off into the distance, the pipes were attached to it and the man with the machine gun barked orders into a communicator in one hand, telling them to steady the ship.  
“That’s how they get the water I imagine.” Jackie whispered. Ross turned to her, her eyes were slightly out of focus bleary with sleep but her body was tense and coiled. 

“If they can’t hear us why are we whispering?” He asked, his own voice still low and he could hear the rising panic in it as the man walked just a hands span away from him. Jackie looked over at him and smiled nervously. 

“The Captain’s device has short circuited before… Once I was spouting all sorts of rubbish. Taunts, curses, a very unkind thing about someone’s mother and the auditory settings malfunctioned. They thought the air was shouting insults at them.” 

Captain Harker was standing at the fresh hold of the field, arms outstretched to keep the closest to her away. She made eye contact with Ross and gave him a nod. He took out his sword and nodded back, signalling to Billie and Jackie to do the same. Harker slowly reached for the small device strapped to her thigh. She turned the dial slowly, holding up her hand to count down from three. On one she hit the dial and the bubble burst, strips of it tearing away and falling to the ground. The regiment stopped in their traps, confused at the sudden presence of twenty armed soldiers on the other side of the river. Ross licked his lips nervously. The man with the communicator yelled something into it and reached for his gun. Ross, alarmed reeled back and Jackie stepped forward, aimed her pistol and shot. The man went down screaming and silence descended for one long moment as he writhed and moaned in the dust before all hell broke loose. A woman with an axe came flying through the water towards them and Captain Harker raced to meet her. Ross aimed with his own gun, remembering what Billie had taught him about timing and where to shoot he started moving, shooting as he went. He moved up the rocks, aiming for high ground to give him a good vantage but a man got in front of him before he could get more than a few steps along the edge of the river. He had a sick smile on his face and drew a machete from his back. 

Ross walked forward to meet him, reaching for his side for his sword. He was too close to fire at with the pistol and anyway, he hadn’t had time to re-load it. The man before him was large with skin dark as midnight and eyes as green as emeralds. His grin remained unnerving as he moved at an almost leisurely pace towards him. Ross started slowly moving backwards, he had to get out of the lodging areas, if he stayed where he was he would be trapped and an easy target. He glanced around and noticed a nearby tree, the lowest branch reached his hip and Ross judged that if he ran he could vault it. He waited until the man was a foot away and then darted for the tree, jumping the branch and running out into open territory. He caught sight of Jackie and Billie, working as one to bring down a woman with vivid blue hair and wielding what looked like a katana with a human face etched into it. A blinding pain hit his shoulder and he looked behind him. The man he had escaped was bearing down on top of him. Ross whirled, drawing his sword and keeping it lose to his side, opening up the man’s thigh as he came at him. He danced away quickly as he fell and sound as a woman tried to rush him from behind with a ball and chain. The heavy metal ball hit the ground beside him with a deafening thud and the woman grinned as she bought it up to come at him again. Ross under it and moved in close, not allowing her the time to bring it up a third time. His fist smashed into her face and she reeled. Ross kicked the ball away from her and finished her off with his sword.  
His shoulder was burning with pain. Ross reached up to feel it and guessed that the bullet had passed right through it. Though he couldn’t be certain. He stretched it, testing its give and winced as a shock of pain crashed over him. He made his way back up the side of the ravine until he reached an outcrop. He dropped down and opened his pack, pulling out the attachment and leaning the scope out on the level rock. He reloaded and lined up the gun. His eyes moved over the crowds of people fighting before him, letting off bullet after bullet from the chamber of the sniper rifle. He felt his heartbeat slow as he focussed on keeping his fingers steady and his body still. He didn’t even notice the man as he approached when suddenly he was ripped away from the gun and thrown to the floor. The man that stood over him raised both his hands and snapped his fingers outwards. A rumbling sound grew in Ross’s ears and the ground erupted around him, shards of rock and stone morphing around his hands, keeping him in place. Ross cried out in terror and confusion as his hands were pinned above his head by solid stone. Looking up at his captor he saw a flash of purple in his eyes and gasped.

“You’re a-“ 

“Yes sir, at your service.” He spoke with a southern drawl and white teeth flashed in the light. He leaned over Ross and patted his cheek. “A good little snipper Harker has here. She’s improving.” Ross didn’t understand. This was supposed to be a random attack. How could this man know his Captain?

“Ross!” Ross craned his head. Jackie and Billie were standing at the edge of the outcrop, anger flashing on their faces. The man’s face split into a smile and he gave the two a knowing look. 

“Preston and Halford. You’re looking as lovely as ever ladies.” Jackie trained her gun at the man’s chest and glared.

“Bartholomew. I wish I could say the same for you.” Bartholomew laughed darkly and looked Jackie up and down appreciatively. Billie took out a knife from her pocket and squeezed it once firmly. Ross watched as the staff elongated, each part fitting into the others until it was the height of her. Jackie stalked forward, knocking off each attack of stone as the man hurled them at her. She knocked him in the side, sending him reeling away from Ross and into the wall behind him. His head bounced off the rock with a smack. He sprang quickly to his feet and moved to run out the opposite side of the outcrop only to have Jackie swipe his feet out from under him. Billie dug one end of the staff into the ground and vaulted herself around to land in front of him before he could escape. In mid-air she twisted and drove the end of the staff into the man’s leg. He howled in pain. 

“Ah! You little wretch! You never did have any manners!” Jackie continued her descent and landed behind him.

“Like I could learn manners from you witch scum!” The staff cracked against his temple and he went down. Billie was beside Ross, trying to break the stone grip on his wrists. She took out a small knife with intricate patterns printed into the hilt and chiselled away at the shackles until Ross’s hands were free. He rolled over and up onto his elbows and knees. Jackie knelt done beside them and put a hand to Ross’ shoulder.

“You ok lad?” Ross batted her hand away and looked up at both of them.

“What the hell is going on?” He asked, wheezing slightly as he tried to regain his breathing.

“I just saved your life.” Jackie said, the phrase sounded like a question. Ross shook his head.

“I saw his eyes, they were purple he was a witch…” he trailed off, both girl’s weren’t looking at him. “And he knew you. Both of you and the Captain. How?”

“Right now we haven’t got time for a history lesson.” Billie said firmly, pulling Ross to his feet with one hand. “We will tell you everything later but for now we have to defeat these bastards.” Ross’ eyes widened. 

“The whole regiment?” she nodded, taking Jackie’s hand and pulling both of them towards the outcrop where the fighting was reaching its climax just below them.

“But we’re soldiers!” He protested. “Not witch hunters.”

“We are soldiers.” Billie agreed.

“So who better to fight a war?” Ross opened his mouth to say how completely mad they both sounded when a voice called out over the ravine. 

“Captain Harker stand down! We have a deal to offer!” Ross’s head whipped round, one hand still clutching his aching shoulder. A group of five witches had touched down in the centre of the ravine floor, their purple eyes all turned towards Harker as she strode forward to meet them, bloody and panting. Ross gasped as his eyes landed on the figure who’d spoken and purple eyes rose to meet his. They regarded one another for a long moment and then James’ face split into an angelic grin. 

“Hello pretty boy.”


	4. Where for art thou Romeo?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trade is struck and a journey begins...

“It’ll only hurt for a moment Ross, don’t squirm so much!” Ross fought the urge to pout and instead focussed on the bright spot on the ceiling where Dr. Plume had been experimenting with some anti-bacterial gel. 

Ross had only been in Dr Plume’s quarters once or twice in his whole stay aboard the Demeter. Once when he was fifteen years old and had fallen out of the rigging after making a bet with Blamey that he couldn’t climb five meters blindfolded. Plume had had to stitch virtually half his face back on. Ross still had the scar, running the entire length of his face from eyebrow to the corner of his mouth. The second time, he had technically been dead for three minutes after being pulled into the water during a siege of siren’s two years back. Ross reckoned that not being unconscious when they bought him in was an improvement. 

His shoulder was burning painfully and he could taste the bile in his throat. Not that Ross minded. Pain meant he was alive and could feel. It also stopped him from looking at Jim who was leant against the wall on the other side of the room, staring at him with what looked like concern on his face. That and amusement. He sat forward, leaning his elbow on his knee, giving Dr. Plume better access to his shoulder. 

"See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" Dr. Plume’s hands faltered momentarily before continuing and Ross felt his face flush. Jim was looking right at him, purple eyes glowing with mischief. 

“And every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in heaven and may look on her,” He looked at Jim defiantly, raising his chin to look at him over his nose. “But you may not.” Dr. Plume chuckled lightly. Jim simply smiled and didn’t look away. 

Jackie and Billie walked past the open door, shoulders drawn and tense. When she saw him, Jackie looked up at him and gave him a half smile which Ross didn’t return. They had kept all this from him and Ross would not forget that so easily. 

A few moments later Dr. Plume shut his bag with a soft click. 

“Ok, you are good to go. No rifle handling for a few days and make sure you rest Ross alright?” Ross waved him away after promising to comply and Plume left, leaving Ross and Jim with nothing to do but stare at each other. 

“Don’t you have anywhere to be?” Ross said bluntly, sliding off the table and getting to his feet. Jim gave him a smirk and walked further into the room. 

“Not just now.” He said, stopping beside him and taking Ross’s shirt into his hands before the later could reach for it. Ross straightened with a scowl and Jim clasped his shoulders with both hands. “Besides, how can I leave my fair love whilst he is injured?” Ross gritted his teeth and snatched his shirt from Jim’s grasp, not missing the feeling of the other hands on his. Hating himself for it, he moved towards the door. 

“How did you even find us?” He asked despite himself. Jim leant back against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I have my ways.” He replied cryptically. Ross resisted the urge to reach forward and strangle him. “Are you not a member of this crew?” Ross could feel his patience slowly ebbing away from him. He sighed. 

“Yes, of course I am!” 

“Well then, you should know every inch of your ship correct?” He said with a grin, slipping past him and spinning out of his way when Ross reached out to stop him. 

“What does that even mean? No, forget it, I haven’t got time for this. Goodbye Jim.” He said. He felt the blond move behind him and heard his voice right next to his ear. 

“You should be resting.” He said softly. Ross scoffed and Jim’s hand rested on his shoulder. “Don’t strain yourself pretty boy, you need healing.” Ross’s vison went dark around the edges and he furrowed his eyebrows. He could feel something shift inside his chest. This was what the girl’s had warned him about: the Witch of words influence. Ross could feel the effect it was having on him. He knew that he would not disobey Jim’s advice and it infuriated him. He shook his head and turned to look at Jim but the witch had already moved past Ross and out onto the Demeter’s walkway. Ross followed him to the door and watched him as he made his way towards the Captain’s quarters. A tall red haired man and a petite woman with curly black hair seemed to materialise beside him and they disappeared inside the cabin. 

Ross looked on for as long as he could but eventually he couldn’t hold out against Jim’s words and felt compelled to return to his bunk to rest. An hour later Billie came bursting in.

“Ross!” She said breathlessly. Ross looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. She took his hand and pulled him towards the door. “They’re leaving. Everyone’s gathered on deck.” Ross hurriedly pulled on his boots and followed after her. 

The Captain stood on deck, hands clasped behind her back. As they approaches Ross caught sight of Jim as the witch leant against the side of the ship, arms crossed over his chest. He winked at Ross who gritted his teeth in response and pointedly turned his back on the blond to look at his captain. The four other witches Jim had arrived with took positions around the ship but no advance towards the crew. 

“We had come to a stale mate.” Harker started. Her voice did nothing to hide the anger she felt. “We are to let the water collection go.” The general consensus within the crew was that this was not a good thing. Around Ross, they started clamouring and shouting. Beside him Billie shook her head. 

“If we do that then no town for miles will get any water for months. Damn leeches suck the river dry every time…” Ross looked back at Harker just as she raised her hands for silence. Her voice was steely as she interrupted the protestations. “However! We will take half of what they gather to do with whatever we see fit.” She turned to look at Jim who tilted his head respectfully. The crew seemed to take the condition as a fair trade as they settled right down. Ross remained quiet, waiting for the Captain to continue. 

“How can we trust that we will not be slaughtered as soon as we set sail?” Someone shouted. 

“Yes.” Jackie spoke up from her place on the other side of the crowd. “We can hardly trust the word of witches themselves.” 

“Indeed not!” Jim said loudly. He straightened up as the eyes of the crew turned on him. Ross noted the way the sunlight played off his golden hair. He shook his head, trying, in vain, to banish such thoughts from his head. “To make sure you are not followed by the clan we offer to accompany you to the next port so that the trade can be made fairly.” Jim’s head moved to him and his eyes locked with Ross’s. “I swear on the lives of all my clan that you shall not be harmed.” Ross felt the power behind the words and knew that he would follow through on his oath. 

The next port was the capital which, if Ross remembered correctly, was a week’s voyage away from the Westlands. The ship cast off a few minutes later, the crew moving cautiously around their new escorts. The coven, for their part, simply remained standing where they were. Jim started to move towards him but Ross hurried off down towards the back of the ship. Billie and Jackie watched him go with the promise to talk later.

As he leant over the railings, looking down at the witches’ ship which was keeping a modest distance between them, Ross felt someone stop next to him. He jumped back when a voice he didn’t recognise spoke softly. 

“He doesn’t mean you harm you know.” The dark haired witch that had been with Jim when they had first met was standing beside him. Tall and impassive, he seemed not to move a muscle. A strange sort of coldness emanated from him and Ross fought a shiver. 

“I’m sorry?” The man tilted his head upwards, the wind played with his hair and swept it across his face.

“Jim. He is fascinated by you. But it is a harmless flirtation, he has found something he enjoys and wishes to be as close to it as he can.” He turned to look at Ross. “Humour him and he will soon learn you are simply another human.” He walked away before Ross could respond. He was right. There was nothing special about Ross. The witch would simply grow tired of him and soon enough he would move on. Ross tried to be glad of the fact but he couldn’t shift the ache that spread over his chest.

He glanced down once more and a shimmer of light caught his eye. Etched onto the side of side of the ship he could see what looked like words, etched into the wood: 

“By the Stars in his soul, I call Starlight to guide me, he must be found. By the voice of his soul, I call knowledge to guide me, so that he, must be found. By the gods of his soul I call gods to guide me, so that he, may be found.” 

He looked over his shoulder, back towards where he’d last seen Jim. Even Ross knew a tracking spell when he saw one.


	5. History Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross learns a bit more about the history between the witches and humans and finds that Jim might not be as annoying as he first thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that the comments I have gotten for this fic are absoluteley amazing. I regularly share them with all my friends that don't write much to their annoyance. Thank you all so much for your kind kind words. I hope to continue to not let you down! xx

“It’s quite unnerving really,” Ross mused, "having a ship full of pirates with a vendetta against humanity following behind us constantly.” He could even see the ships guards standing at the front of the ship, playing cards. One of them waved a weary hand in greeting and Ross tipped his head, unsure how to respond. He and Billie had been on watch duty since before sunrise, propped against the back end of the Demeter, riffles in hand. Billie looked up from where she was reclined against the side, a cigarette hanging from her lips. She looked over her shoulder and waved cheerfully at the guard on duty. 

“You have a point there.” She said with a smile. “But a necessity all the same. Do you know how many islands we can help with half of that water load? Fucking tones of them. As long as there’s a chance that we get to help out innocent humans and witches then we will have to deal with being stalked by a crew of them…” Ross raised his eyebrows.

“Hang on… witches and humans? I thought we were against goodness to witches?” Billie put out the cigarette and turned to look at him.

“Ah yes, your history lesson… where were we?” Billie had been telling Ross all about the history of the war and of the relationship between the witches and the humans. 

“Witches have existed since the dawn of time?” He supplied. Clarity settled on Billie's face. 

“Right! So, the term witchcraft came from the word ‘Wicca’ which means ‘the wise one’. The earliest records of the concept can be traced to the early days of humanity. Around 1000 AD the practice started to get the attention of priests, Christianity, and members of the society in a negative way. Throughout history, witches have been feared and driven away by humans as sort of an instinct, the whole ‘they’re different so they must be dangerous’ spiel that humanity seems to be famous for. Anyway, the first crusade against witches was in 1022 AD when a witch was burned to death. History echoes the terrible campaign against Witchcraft in Salem in 1692 in which 150 people were tried as suspects of practicing witchcraft.”

Billie took out another cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag before looking back at him. 

“The big stigma surrounding witches Ross, is that they are all evil. Humanity has been lead to believe that the whole species is to blame for the fall of the natural world. It is said that they are reason the world died and that humanity had to take to the skies.” An amused sounding voice drifted down to them.

“Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say that witchcraft is also great and would suffice.” Ross sighed and looked up to where Jim sat in the rigging a few feet above them, clasping one knee with both hands and letting the other swing free. His long golden hair was tied back off his face and, as usual, he wore a smug looking grin as he looked down at them. Billie rolled her eyes in annoyance but Ross fancied that he saw a hint of amusement in them. In the past few days Jim’s clan had been nothing but charismatic and helpful towards the crew of the Demeter. Ross had found Jim, Jackie and Billie all talking multiple times when Ross returned from his nightly shifts in the navigation rooms. 

He and Jim hadn’t spent more than a few hours together since Ross couldn’t handle how the other made him feel. There was such a mixture trepidation, suspicion and just plain embarrassment whenever Jim shows any interest in him. The dark haired witch, whom Ross learnt was named Laurent’s, words kept echoing through his mind: “he has found something he enjoys and wishes to be as close to it as he can.” For some reason the words hurt him and Ross was frustrated with himself for it. He knew nothing about Jim and the only experience he had with this race was of violence and deceit. His instant infatuation with the blond had completely thrown him. 

Jim hopped down from the rigging, landing effortlessly in front of them both and strolled over. Billie raised one eyebrow and continued with her lesson.

“Of course, the humans only saw those who wished to do harm. Those witches who were content to remain hidden were rarely heard of. When they finally decided that they may be able to reveal themselves, the humans refused to accept them.” Ross, determined not to look at Jim begged her to go on. 

“When was that? How long has this war even been going on for?” 

“Well, we revealed ourselves properly at the end of the 21st century.” Jim said, stretching out his arms and swiping Billie’s cigarette from her hand as it was half way to her mouth. She shook her head and, with a salute at Ross, walked back towards the main deck. 

“Back then there was a lot of positive things going for us.” Jim took over effortlessly and as strange as his presence still was to him, Ross had to admit he was curious.

The two of them leant against the back of the Demeter. “Witches were being portrayed so positively in literature and in films. I mean as completely off and weird as some of the stuff was, it seemed pretty well received. Problem was there’s a big stretch between the idea of something and the reality of it. People were spooked and what does humanity do when people are spooked?” Ross sighed. 

“We attacked?” Jim smiled sadly and nodded.

“You attacked.” Ross’s shoulders sagged. After so long he had hoped that maybe one day, he’d hear something different but no, humanity always reacted with killing and violence.  
“Humanity does so love doing that.” He muttered. Jim shrugged. 

“You were welcoming enough at first. Wanting to learn from us and offer us technologies in return but somewhere along the lines the humans realised how powerful our abilities really were and you got scared. Soon we found ourselves surrounded. Our governments stared electing human candidates and suddenly they were run solely by humans, leaving our kind without a voice. Our colonies were split up and quarantined at the furthest reaches of the colony. We didn't stand a chance against you. Blaming the decay of the Earth on us was a sure fire way of alienating us straight away so that any threat we may have posed wouldn’t have time to come to light.” Ross tilted his head. 

“You hate humans very much.” He said quietly. Jim shook his head.

“No. I mean yes I do but, not for the reasons expected. Not for the reason so many of my kind do hate you for. I hate your leaders, the ones that used us for their own gain and I hate the fact that you all follow in blind panic, never questioning what you are told. A species of sheep is humanity, if one goes you all follow.” There was a sad faraway look in Jim’s eyes that he couldn’t quite decipher. If Ross had been in his position he’d have been furious at everyone and everything around him. “But I see ships like yours, that fly to the furthest reaches of the species and you help. You gave food and water and education to creatures that cannot find these things for themselves and that’s brilliant and if more of your kind were like you.” He paused to reach up for Ross’ face, trailing a hand down one cheek. “Then perhaps there is a chance that we may yet have peace.” Ross frowned.  
“And that’s what you want? After everything that’s been down to you, all you want is peace?” Jim let out a noisy breath and made a non-committal noise. 

“The vast majority of us yes. There are a few pockets of hostiles who want nothing more to deal out exactly what they have received. They want to wipe out as many humans as they can. They don’t understand that it’s the governments and leaders that have lead your people astray.” He gestured to the rest of his crew who were busy at different ends of the ship. “My clan and I are one of very few who try to subdue this uprising. We believe that only through offering trust and kindness can humanity ever learn to accept us.” Ross could feel the uncertainty on his face and Jim confirmed it with a small laugh. 

“Thanks for the vote of confidence pretty boy, it’s a hard job but someone has to do it.” Ross smiled.

“There is a brave soldier, who fights with all his might. Ready to sacrifice anything. Ready to welcome the white light.” He quipped, grinning. Jim nudged him in the side gently.

“Must we always speak in riddle Ross?” He said, teasingly. Ross’ smile grew bigger.

“I thought it was you who liked to do that.” He replied. Jim chuckled and threw an arm around his shoulders. Ross liked the weight of it and the warmth as Jim leaned his body more firmly against his own. “I admire you.” He said quietly. Jim looked at him as if he were mad. 

“What on Earth for?” Ross laughed.

“For your amazing ability not to hate every human you come into contact with.” Jim shrugged. 

“There is a lot about your kind that I find very pleasing. The beauty you can create from objects without the use of magic for one.” His tone turned playful. “The pleasing profile of a young man’s face for another.”

“If you are to continue this infatuation with me you must learn to be disappointed.” Ross said. “For one day I shall grow old and you will not have my beauty to gaze at any more.” Jim smiled softly and ruffled Ross’ hair.

“I have more than one reason to be here Ross.” He said softly. “I very much enjoy talking to you pretty boy.” Their faces were only inches apart and Ross could see the light collection of freckles that dusted Jim’s cheeks and feel his soft breath on his face. 

“Captain! I see land!” Ross looked up and his eyes widened as he took in the island in front of him. It was at least three kilometers across and had a large dock jutting out of one side, its jetty reaching out as if to welcome them. Ross could see a grand courtyard and bright luscious trees leading the way into the maze of cottages and office buildings. The building easily reached thirty stories high and there such an air of decadence that seemed to make the island glow with wealth and importance.The docks were buzzing with activity, a continuous conveyor belt of ships docking and leaving. Ross had never seen such a place.

“Where are we?” He asked excitedly. Beside him he felt Jim’s posture straighten. Ross looked up and saw that his face was drawn and serious. 

“The human capital of the colonies and the worse place in the world for a witch.”


	6. Captain's Quaters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew reach the capital and Ross finds his illustrious captain in a moment of solitude. They are invited to meet the Chancellor and set a curse for the Southlands...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! So! writing something with my beloved Taupe write now in such a way that it's really helping me with my other works and I also now have a complete plot so I know where this is going. I know it's been a little while so thank you for being so patient with me! xx

Ross stared at Jim for a moment. “What do you mean? I- oh.” Jim gave him a half smile and ruffled his hair.

“It’ll be fine.” He said quietly, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than he was Ross, “I can blend in well enough.” Ross nodded and watched him walk back up the deck and approach the rest of his coven who had all gathered uneasily midship. 

Ross frowned at the fast approaching land mass. He’d never been to the capital, residing on one of the smallest islands in the colony had meant that Ross had kept a pretty wide berth of the capital all his life. All he’d seen of it throughout his childhood was the occasional cruiser flying by, the crest of the colony printed on the front. They never landed on Cornwall, only zipped past like insects ignoring a weed, in search of a more worthwhile flower. 

Now that he was here he couldn’t deny he was curious, what kind of people would order an attack on an entire race when all they had been shown was compassion and understanding? He left the rest of the crew to prepare for docking and went back below decks to his bunk to get another jacket. 

Ross’s room was less of a room and more of a museum exhibit. Having shared it with first Billie and then both girls for most of the time he’d been aboard the ship he had graciously given them the bigger half. Harker had given him a gossamer curtain to create a boundary between the two halves and every time she went away on a small mission of her own she would bring back some other fabric from far off islands to drape across his bunk. When he was younger this had delighted him but Ross supposed he may be getting too old to beg the indulgence of their captain. But it made him happy all the same. A row of shelves lined one wall with a tiny cupboard squished into the corner. Ross took a warm but battered jacket from the cupboard and turned to go.

Half way down the corridor Ross remembered how crowded the storage units were the last time he had checked and walked down the hall, stopping in front of Harker’s quarters.   
“Captain? I was wondering before we dock do we need to… oh.” Harker was leaning over her desk, dark hair obscuring half her face as she stared at the framed picture in her hands. When she heard him, she looked up quickly and rubbed at her face like she’d been crying. 

“Are you alright?” Harker stood up and turned away from Ross. 

“Yes,” She said, sighing and turning back round. She ran a hand through her hair and gave him a strained smile. “Yes I’m fine. Just… thinking about things.” Ross didn’t quite believe her but let the subject go all the same.

Harker had been a twenty year old captain when Ross first joined the Demeter. Young, ballsy and a glint in her eye that said she had something to prove. Ross had taken one look at her and decided that a life in the skies is what he wanted. She ran her ship with a fair but firm hand on the contrary with her young age and lack of experience. The only thing she was secretive about was herself. Ross had no idea where their young captain had come from. Where she’d grown up, who her parents were and how she knew so much about witches had remained unknown to Ross for years. 

Harker gathered some papers on her desk and slung her coat around her shoulders. “You had a question?” She asks. Ross shook his head, struggling to remember what he had come into the captain’s quarters for.

“Ah, yes. I was just wondering if we needed to clear any space before we make the pickup.” 

“We have enough room Ross. I’m heading up.” She walked past him, stopping a moment to clasp his shoulder and disappeared up the stairway. Ross turned to join her then stopped and walked back into the room, towards the desk. 

The frame was old and worn and the edges of the picture looked folded over and slightly crumpled. The picture showed a young girl with long dark hair smiling widely at a camera. An older girl had one arm round the girl and was waving at the camera. Both looked happy and content but the more Ross looked the more he became aware of the lingering sadness in the older girl’s eyes. 

“Ross! Time to go!” Ross jumped and placed the photo carefully back onto the desk before turning and jogging back up to the main deck. 

As the docks loomed ever closer, Captain Harker guided the Demeter gently into port with practised ease. Ross helped the rest of the crew as they prepared to disembark, leaving Jim to re-join his coven in the lower decks. Ross glimpsed Jim muttering something under his breath and the eyes of the slight dark haired witch fading from brilliant violet to a still dazzling but much strange chocolate brown. 

Once the ship was safely docked they went ashore to hook up the water chambers on either side of the Demeter. The witches’ ship chose to remain airborne, hovering nervously a few hundred feet above them. The great pipes slithered down like giant snakes and Ross reached out, along with Billie and Jackie, to snag one end and pull it in close.   
A crowds was starting to gather by the time the Demeter’s storage tanks were full up. Ross supposed they were something to look at, giant pipes leading from one ship to another whilst half the crew stayed very obviously on board. A group of girls a few years younger than him were standing just on the shore and looking very obviously at him. Ross looked down at his clothes, there was a small stain from whatever they’d had for breakfast a few days ago that had stubbornly refused to come off in the wash but Ross didn’t think it was noticeable enough for them to be giggling t him so much. He heard Billy struggling to hold in laughter and frowned at her. 

“What?” Jackie slung an arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair with her other hand. 

“Oh Ross Ross Ross.” She said teasingly. “So clueless in the way of the woman.” Ross raised an eyebrow and Billie pinched his cheek.

“You are very good looking Ross.” She said slowly, and then shrugged one shoulder. “For a man.” Ross’ eyes widened and he blushed, causing the girls’ giggles to get louder and Billie and Jackie joined in. Ross tried his best to get on with the loading. 

When they had finished and the Demeter was groaning under the weight of her new cargo, Ross turned to follow the captain back on deck when a slight man with bright white hair materialised out of the crowds, walking calmly towards them. Harker seemed to recognise him and halted her ascent up the ladder as he approached.

“Captain Harker”, the man’s voice was soft but low, “he wishes to see you.” The warmth in his voice was almost completely overshadowed by his face which showed nothing more than a grim line but Harker only smiled and patted the old man warmly on the arm. To Ross’ amusement, the old man stumbled slightly under the force of it. 

“Of course! Poldark, Preston and Halford come with me. The rest of you make sure we’re in ship shape ready to cast off and Master Hawkins!” Jim’s face appeared over the deck, one eyebrow raised. Ross found it very distracting and hastily looked down at his shoes. “Feel free to come along.” Jim smiled at here and launched himself over the side of the ship, landing perfectly just beside Ross who simply rolled his eyes. 

“Show off.” Jim slung an arm over Ross’ shoulder and winked at him. 

“It’s only showing off if you’re impressed pretty boy.” He returned and Ross shook his head, a smile quirking at the side of his mouth. 

 

They followed the old man whom Harker revealed was named Glovington away from the grand appearances of the docks and further into the capital and, as they moved further into the capital, Ross became acutely aware that the air had become denser and more humid. He felt like an insect trapped underneath a magnifying glass’ ray. All around them the building were so tall that Ross had to crane his neck to see the tops of them, they enclosed them like a prison and he suddenly Ross was grateful that the Demeter was free to travel the waves and the skies alike, a freedom which the people of the capital had never experienced.

They followed Glovington further away from the docks and along the path of huge overshadowing trees which, despite being in full bloom, did little to expel the humidity of the air. He felt Jim’s hand around his shoulders loosen as he too started to feel the heat and came to rest by his side, their fingertips brushing every now and then as they were lead through the narrow winding streets and towards what looked like a huge glass dome surrounded with lush gardens and decadent walkways. 

“That looks important.” Jim commented dryly beside him. Ross hummed in agreement. 

“It’s certainly different from the other areas of town… smaller and less…. Important?” The building were now smaller and more compact. They were by no means any less grand but there was certainly more elegance, more modesty to their build as if the owners felt they had nothing to prove. Preston scoffed from her place on Jim’s left and craned her head to look at Ross. 

“They certainly know how to give the illusion of grandeur.” 

 

They climbed the white marble steps and were directed through such a maze of rooms that Ross was pretty sure that without their stern faced escort, they would be completely lost in around two seconds flat. 

They were stopped once they reached a particularly big and empty looking room where Glovington told them to wait and promptly disappeared.

“What are we doing in here?” Ross asked no one in particular. Harker was stood leaning against the wall opposite them, arms folded over her chest and looking completely relaxed. 

“Relax Ross, it’s a progress report nothing more.” Ross frowned. 

“Progress report?” he repeated. Harker looked at him for a moment and then sighed. 

“Sorry, I keep forgetting you’re only just picking this up… the Chancellor is the one that funded us to go out and protect the innocents of the islands.” Ross still felt confused.  
“So, we’re basically a secret police?” Billie shrugged in a ‘more-or-less’ sort of gesture. 

“That’s one way of looking at it. This war has been going on for a very long time Ross. So long that not even the Chancellor can undo the damage it has caused. He hired me years ago to head up a team to act on his behalf, making sure that minimal damage is done to those who have done no wrong. Every so often, when we’re passing through, Chancellor Cresswell will call us in for a progress report.”

Glovington returned and they were off again, winding down even more corridors until they reached a large wooden door, intricately carved with historic figures and vines that criss-crossed over one another around the frame of the door. A golden plaque announced it to be the Chancellor’s quarters. 

Glovington knocked politely, waited a moment and then inclined his head towards the door and spun on his heel and began walking back the way they’d come. 

“He always was a talkative one.” Harker said cheerfully and pushed the door open. 

 

As the door swung open, Ross caught the scent of incense and vanilla. The room had delicate wisps of smoke circling the ceiling in dreamy circles. The walls were painted a deep blue and dotted with painted stars. The heavy curtains were drawn, leaving only a small smattering of candles to illuminate the room. 

Harker lead the way inside and over to the large bed in the middle of the room where an old man lay, propped up on a collection of pillows. He looked pale and tired but his face was soft and open. He smiled at them as they approached.

“Harker! My dear girl how wonderful to see you!” Harker smiled widely and sat down on the chair beside the bed, clasping the old man’s hand gently in her own. He looked at her for a moment before turning his head to taking in the rest of them. “And you’ve bought friends. Billie, Jackie you are looking as radiant as ever.” Jackie chuckled and Billie shook his offered hand, her own smile bright. 

“Hello Chancellor.” The Chancellor grinned at them and his gaze swept over Ross and Jim. 

“And who are these fine gentlemen?” Harker grinned at them and Ross stepped forward. 

“Ross Poldark.” He said by way of greeting, shaking the hand offered and then gesturing to Jim who inclined his head a little awkwardly. “And this is James Hawkins.” Jim smiled softly. 

“Please call me Jim.” He said casually. “It’s nice to meet you.” The Chancellor’s smile was soft and he bowed as much as he could whilst leaning immobile on a headboard. 

“Any you Jim. It is an honour that you have chosen to come here despite the evident danger it must have put you in.” Ross’s eyes widened and Jim faltered but only slightly, his eyes widening marginally before the smile was back. His hand bumped Ross lightly in comfort. 

“I see that I need more practise in blending in.” He said calmly. The Chancellor laughed. 

“Not at all lad! You look remarkably human but I have spent enough time around the brothers to recognise of their ambassadors.” Jim’s expression broke into a real smile, revealing dimples on either side of his mouth and Ross stubbornly remained looking at the floor. 

“How are you these days?” Harker said gently. “You’re looking pretty good today.” The Chancellor puffed out his chest and then wheezed slightly and relaxed back against the headboard again. 

“I’m not as fit as I used to be my dear... but I’m still clinging on.” He said cheerfully. “Now! Enough about me. Let’s get down to business. I heard you secured a water shipment from a rogue witch squad?” Harker nodded and the Chancellor smiled. “That’s my girl. Now I want you to take it to the orphanages of Balare on the outskirts of the Northlands. They haven’t had a shipment in a while and I fear that something may happen to them if they do not receive something soon.” The atmosphere in the room immediately fell. Harker and the Chancellor were bent heads together as he said this and Billie and Jackie’s faces were furrowed in concentration as they took in details of timings and of vessel numbers, rattling off locations and dates as they did so. Ross took his turn, reciting the trajectories and weather patterns and giving estimates about how much of the skies and oceans they’d roughly traversed in the last month or so. He wasn’t nearly as skilled at navigation as Barberac or Moncrete but the Chancellor looked grateful for all the information Ross gave him. 

When they were done the Chancellor thanked them all for coming and Glovington entered the room silently to escort them back to the ship. Just as they reached the door the Chancellor spoke up. 

“Captain Harker? Could I have a word with you in private please?” Something about the tone of his voice made Ross look up at him and then back at Harker, whose face was now drawn in confusion and what looked like utter dread. 

“Harker?” Billie and Jackie were looking back at their captain with similar looks of concern but Harker waved them away gently. 

“Don’t worry, get back to the ship and make sure you’re ready for cast off when I get back.”

Once they reached the ship Glovington left them with a swift bow and Harker joined them a few moments later. She set the course for the Northlands and retreated back below deck to her cabin. Ross watched her go and couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever they had been talking about was something to do with the picture the captain cried over on her desk.


	7. Balare Island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew arrive on the orphanage of Balare to find a gruesome message awaits there Captain...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This one is a little more nitty gritty.
> 
> Um.. I really wanted to get the grieving thing right, cause I didn't just want to gloss over stuff so I hope I did the emotional side of things justice x

When they reached the Balare islands a few hours later, Ross immediately knew something was wrong. There was smoke rising from somewhere on the South of the island and, as they reached the dock they saw that only one bay was free. The rest had been smashed up, the remnants of ships discarded in the air. One lone boat was free, laden with what look like last minute supplies. The inhabitants were nowhere to be seen. Ross and Jim stood at the front of the ship and Jim turned to look at Harker who drew her pistol with a look of grim trepidation on her face.

“Something’s not right here.” 

“You’re right.” She said quietly, eyes scanning the horizon. “Check the town!” She yelled back to the ship. “The rest of you stay close.” 

Harker moved through the tiny streets with practised ease, barely stopping to get her bearings before hurtling herself down a labyrinth of streets. Ross supposed that she had made deliveries to the island before but that wouldn’t explain the desperation in her movements. Her fingers constantly flexing on the trigger on her gun. 

The main square of the island was a small and run-down concrete area with buildings as tall as skyscrapers but made from such fragile materials they looked like they could topple any second. All around them were signs of distress. Windows lay shattered on street corners, doors burst open and all manner of personal belongings littered the streets, like a child’s play things left scattered about, lonely and uncared for. The rest of the crew split off and went in separate directions, spreading out over the island.

Ross followed silently as Harker made her way to what resembled an old church. It was a more modern looking structure and obviously cared for, with clean walls and strong foundations. 

They entered the building in silence and quickly found a long set of stairs leading downwards. They descended and Ross became aware of the strong smell of copper and a deathly silence as they stepped into the corridor. The stench was almost unbearable the further down they went until the air became practically unbreathable and Harker stopped them outside of one of the doors along a long corridor. She gave them a dubious look and pushed it open slowly.

Ross’ breath caught in his throat and a blinding flash of pure horror shot through him. The hallway was littered with corpses. The walls were awash with their blood, so much so that the original colour was indistinguishable and Ross felt himself slipping on the soaked stone floor. They moved cautiously along, some brandishing weapons and other checking for survivors. Ross knelt before the body of an old man with thinning grey hair crusted with blood. His face was contorted in agony and when he looked down, Ross threw himself away from the corpse to retch on the ground beside it. The man’s chest had been blown open, tissue and muscle protruding from the gaping wound. He wiped his mouth with one trembling hand and felt another on his shoulder. Jim gave him a grave smile and rubbed a soothing circle into his shoulder blade. 

“It’s ok Ross,” He murmured, “just breathe through it, you’ll be ok.” Ross tried to get his body to obey Jim’s words and, slowly, he could feel himself breathing calmer once more. He gave Jim a grateful smile and allowed himself to be pulled back to his feet. 

Jackie stood from where she had been examining the corpse of a young woman who had had both of her hands singed off and approached them. 

“They were barely armed.” She said quietly. “The only people here are either barely of age teenagers and elderly witches. They used little magic and no weapons in this attack, they were no threat to anybody and completely unprepared for whoever took them apart.” Her voice was quiet and cold and Ross had never heard her sound like that before. Ross felt something rise up in him, a burning anger like he had never felt before. 

“Why would this happen!” He said, seething, “and where are the children?” No one seemed to have an answer. 

“The tracks left in the blood seems to be heading further into the building.” Laurent murmured quietly. Harker’s head shot up, staring down the hallway at the footsteps left in in the mess on the floor. She was up in an instant and Laurent followed after with surprising speed. Ross exchanged a look with Jim and he and the rest of the crew followed quickly. 

They all slid to a halt when they heard her cry out. A short sharp cry of despair before she fell silent. Ross felt it go straight through him and he moved cautiously around the corner, Jim right behind him, a surprised cry of his own ripping through him. Jim stood frozen beside him, his mouth slack. 

They lay utterly still on the ground, small faces showing the terror they felt in their last moments of life. The remnants of gun shells littered the floor and the wall was riddled was holes. Ross looked back the way he’d came and noticed that the walls were thicker and the door was made of steel. 

“It must have been their back up plan.” Jim murmured, examining the wall. “The perfect safe place for the children in case of emergencies.” There was a large circular hole in the steel. “Not safe from everything it seems.” Ross looked back towards Harker and found her knelt in the middle of it all, blood soaking through her trousers as she reached, very gently, for the corpse of a young girl with long dark hair who lay propped up against a pillar, her neck bruised with finger marks. He realised with a start that it was the younger girl in the picture on Harker’s desk and he sank to his knees, hand reaching up to cup his mouth. Jim’s hand touched his shoulder.

“Who was she?”

Harker’s hand fell softly on the cold skin of the girl’s chest. 

“She was my sister.” She said quietly. “When we were younger our parent’s clan was attacked and the Chancellor found us after the attack, curled up in the corner of one of the ruined school houses. He made sure we got safe passage into the capital and took us in as his own, hiding our original heritage of course. Evette she was sent here when I was give the position of Captain of the Demeter. I hadn’t seen her for years and now…” Tears started to fall from her eyes and she lapsed into silence, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Ross remained quiet, not sure what to say. There were so many questions whirling around in his mind but this was hardly the time to ask about her apparently witch descent. He stood and reached tentatively to place a hand on Harker’s shoulder.

“Do you want us to…?” Harker shook her head slightly and moved a piece of the girl’s hair away from her face. “We’ll be outside.” He whispered before taking Jim’s hand and walking the back towards the door. 

When Ross was very young he’d lost his mother. Marie Poldark had been working in the mines on Cornwall the year of the great collapse. Shockwaves brought down several tunnels around the island whilst the miners were still inside. Ross remembered sitting in the field with all the neighbourhood kids as the town’s people dug through the wreckage looking for survivors. One by one bodies had been pulled up and kids sitting beside him would start crying and screaming whilst the rest of them sat there in a pure state of shock and numbness because it wouldn’t be them. Ross had just sat there and he must have been in shock because he didn’t scream or cry or anything. He just sat, anxious eyes fixed on the wreckage. Ross’s mother was barely recognisable when they’d found her but Ross had known instantly who it was. Grief is different for everyone. To Ross, grief was like a gaping emptiness, a vast chasm of nothing inside. It’s like drowning just from breathing. He’d never felt as alone as he had then, even with his father constantly by his side. He’d clung to his father for months, terrified that he would also leave and then Ross would be alone, and, as Jim opened the door Ross stopped him, pulling him to sit on the floor. 

“I don’t want her to be alone.” He whispered. Jim looked at him for a moment and then kissed his forehead.

He didn’t know how long they were sat there, it felt like hours but it must have only been a few minutes before Harker stood up and walked back to where they were sat. Her eyes were red rimmed and, once so full of fire, were now dim. She sat heavily on Jim’s other side and leant her head against the wall. Ross looked up from where it lay rested against Jim’s shoulder and reached around to clasp her arm. Harker looked back at him and managed a small smile. 

“What’s that?” They both looked up at Jim who was focussed on something along the far wall of the chamber. Ross strained to see what Jim was looking at and caught a flash of paper pined to the wall above Evette’s body. 

“I don’t know.” He said quietly. Jim disentangled Ross’s arm from his own and stood up. Once he reached the paper he tore it down and held it up to the light. 

“Harker, this is your only warning. Do not seek those who would remain lost.” He looked over his shoulder at them, purple eyes glinting, an eyebrow raised. 

“Captain?” Harker was on her feet and beside him in a moment, ripping the paper from Jim’s hand to study it herself. Her hands were trembling. 

“Bastards.” She breathed. 

“Harker, what’s going on here?” Ross asked, stopping beside them both and taking a look at the message. “Who are ‘the ones who would remain lost’?” Jim was looking at Harker with an expression of understanding. 

“They mean the children.” Harker said nothing. Her eyes scanned over the page again and again. 

“They knew. They knew that the Chancellor told me and came after Evette to send a message.” Her shoulders sagged. “And they wiped out an entire island of elderly and infant witches to do it. This is my fault. This whole massacre is my fault.” She was trembling wildly, with anger and turmoil. Ross couldn’t imagine how she must feel. Her convulsions had been getting steadily worse and she had begun to hyperventilate and she staggered. Jim caught her as she started to lose consciousness and his eyes flashed violet. 

“It’s not your fault. They are the ones who deemed mass murder of children a sufficient message okay? Those monsters are responsible for this not you.” Harker’s breathing slowed and the trembling slowed. She caught her breath for a moment and then looked up at Jim. 

“Thank you.” He gave a half shrug and then her glance turned to a glare and she pointed a finger at him. “Do not ever bewitch me again Hawkins, I will slay you where you stand.” Jim immediately held up his hands in surrender. 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Harker squared her shoulders and wiped her face with one hand before turning to Ross.

“Ross, do you remember when this war started?” Ross nodded. “Well back then, little over one hundred and fifty years ago, the first witch clan to reveal themselves to the human world, before any of the others, were named the Dilmoore Brothers. Four siblings all ridiculously powerful, so naturally, they were a huge threat the humans in power at the time. The Chancellor met with the Dilmoore brothers and an argument started that escalated into full hostility which only escalated further when the three successors to the clan disappeared not two weeks after the meeting took place.” Ross thought back to the history books he’d borrowed from Billie after their history lessons and recalled that the Dilmoore Brothers had had three child successors, each chosen from the clan as the most promising young witches of their generation. As a precaution they had all been enchanted to remain children until they were ready to succeed, a time barrier that would last up to eighty years. They were around half way through their apprenticeships when they had disappeared. 

“So the ‘ones that would remain lost’ are the Dilmoore’s successors?” Ross asked. “But why would attack this place to tell you to stay away?” Harker sighed. 

“We should head outside.” Harker said quietly. Ross looked back at Evette. 

“But what about…”

“I got her.” Jim waited for Harker’s permission and when it was given she scooped the child gently into his arms and followed them out of the room.

“The Chancellor called me back to tell me that he was making a move against this war. He said that he realises that there is no way to stop it outright, what with the levels of hatred at an all-time high. He proposed that if we can find the lost children and return them to the Dilmoore’s that maybe they’ll accept it as a peace offering and steps can finally be made to create a treaty. It would have been a step in the right direction.” She growled the last part. “These idiots don’t seem to know that and murdered an entire island hoping to make sure that neither I nor my crew got involved.” 

“But why? Why would they do that?” Harker’s voice was low and bitter. 

“War can be a scary thing. But after two generations of it? War becomes something to depend on. Take that away and these people have nothing. They go back to their low paying jobs in the back of beyond. They feel alone and vulnerable. War gives you power Ross, and once you have it, it can be hard to let it go.” 

When they once again emerged into the fresh air, Jim put Evette’s body gently on the ground. All around them, members of the crew were carrying bodies from the corridors out into the sunlight whilst others dug graves off to one side in neat rows. Ross felt a swell of pride and relief. It was nice to know that humanity as a whole hadn’t completely fallen to shit. Ross helped Billie and Jackie as they shovelled earth onto the graves and, as he stood to wipe the sweat from his brow he glanced up and froze.  
High above them, just inside of Ross peripheral vision, a boat was gravity tethered. Ross strained his eyes and made out the capital’s insignia on the side of the vessel.  
“Captain, they’re still here!” Harker was beside him in a moment, pistol drawn. 

“What?” There was a sudden noise from behind them and the other half of the Demeter’s crew came tearing out of a collection of trees that covered the south side of the island.  
“Captain, it’s an ambush!” One of the men yelled and, to Ross’s horror, about forty men, all dressed in vibrant red uniforms, came sprinting out after them. Weapons brandished high, they let out a mighty cry and Harker pulled on his arm, shouting for the Demeter’s crew to retreat. 

Everything passed in a blur as Ross hurried back towards the dock. He could see Billie and Jackie just ahead of him and he heard Jim swear as he raced alongside Ross towards the shore line. Gun shots sounded in all directions and Ross heard the sounds of the dying as they were caught in the crossfire. Their pursuers were gaining fast and Ross could feel the whistle of air as a blade swept by him, missing the back of his neck by no more than an inch. He turned just as the axe meant for his head embedded itself into the tree he had just raced past and lost his footing as he made to turn back. He stumbled with a yelp but Jim caught him and they sped on but they were pulling away from the group. 

As they reached the docks another group of men appeared to meet them. Ross watched as the last member of the crew boarded the Demeter. A group of around ten men surrounded them, cutting them off from the Demeter. Ross looked around desperately and caught site of the abandoned boat they’d passed upon their arrival. 

“There!” He thrust Jim in its direction and turned just as one of the men made a swipe at him. Ross batted the sword away and elbowed his attacker in the nose. The impact sent him reeling backwards. He could see Jim struggling to get the ropes free from their tether and to follow him when he heard a sickening thud and his world went black.


	8. Stranded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross awakens and spends some quality bonding time with everyone's favourite dashing witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I know it's been forever and I'm really sorry okay? Exams are happening soon and I kinda went AWOL for a little while? I seem to do this a lot I am so sorry...)
> 
> Poetry used:   
> Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare  
> They gave us a war that nobody wanted by Patrick O'Donnell (This one was changed slightly as one line was omitted to make it fit a little better?
> 
> Song used:   
> Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift feat. The Civils Wars (In the future Taylor swift is ancient history :P)

The darkness was all consuming. Ross tried to move against it but the air seemed stagnant and he couldn’t move, like it was weighing in all around him. He opened his mouth and the darkness trickled down his throat, wrapping around his insides, turning him numb. 

“Ross.” He turned with effort and saw a young woman standing a little way away from him. Her hair was floating like she was underwater and she looked unaffected by the darkness around her. A pang went through him as he realised that it was Harker’s sister, her neck still marked by the hands of her attacker. Ross wasn’t sure how he could even see her through the black. It was like she omitted a light, a dull glow that illuminated her from her surroundings. 

She didn’t say anything as they looked at one another and Ross felt like he should say something. As soon as he opened his mouth the darkness would seep into him and he was forced to clamp his mouth shut tightly. Something wet touched his cheek and Ross reached up one hand to wipe it away. Another droplet hit his finger and Ross could see the woman crying, her tears drifting through the space between them.

“Ross please,” Evette’s voice sounded in his ears, though her lips didn’t move “help us.” As she spoke other figures started appearing in the darkness around them, their bodies mutilated and broken as they stood, their hair floating around their pale faces as they cried and pleaded: “Help us Ross. Help us.” 

Ross’ eyes shot open and he was immediately blinded by the bright light of the sun above him and screwed them shut again. He became distantly aware that he was, in fact, not dead. He was gently bobbing up and down. The familiar rocking motion of a ship doing wonders for Ross’ frayed nerves but nothing for his nausea.

He lay still for a while, eyes closed as he tried to organise his muddled thoughts. They had been on Balare and there'd been an ambush. He and Jim had found an old boat and then Ross had hit his head and. Jim. Where was Jim? 

Ross’ eyes snapped open and he bolted to his feet, too quickly for his aching head to cope with. The world swam before him and he lurched forward, burying his head in his hands and willing the nausea to pass. Gentle hands cupped his shoulders, rubbing soothing circles. 

“It's ok pretty boy we're safe.” Ross opened his eyes and felt himself sag with relief. Jim stood before him, eyes sparkling, a lopsided smile on his face. 

“Jim.” He breathed. “We made it?” Jim nodded cheerfully and gestured around them. 

“Yep. After you decided to take a nap I managed to pull you so you fell into the boat and then cast off.” Ross noticed the crisscrossing bandages that covered the witches arms and raised an eyebrow. Jim shrugged. “They followed us for a while. They've got cracking aim with those archers, almost and as good as you pretty boy. Anyway, I was following the Demeter, getting ready to throw you on board when Harker yelled something then pulled upwards. The other ships went straight past us, I think she used a temporary cloaking spell… last time I saw them they were heading North.” Ross leaned heavily against the side of the ship.

“So you followed them right?” He felt a little embarrassed for apparently being unconscious throughout all of this but his head still hurt and he was pretty sure that whatever hit him had been heavy and made of solid metal. Jim didn't answer right away and, when Ross glanced over, he scratched the back of his neck.

“Yes. That would be our current predicament.” He said. Ross crossed his arms over his chest. 

“And that would be?” 

“Well, I was following them until midday yesterday when the wind died. This is an old boat so she’s got no engine. Just a gravity orb to keep us in the sky.” Ross felt anxiety rising in the pit of his stomach. He’d heard plenty of stories of boats getting lost in the vast cosmos of the sky for months, even years without being rescued. 

“Yesterday? How long was I out for?” Jim gave him a sympathetic look. 

“Around two days give or take. I did what I could, a good old ice spell woven into makeshift bandages to reduce the swelling. Which I need to swap out by the way.” Ross gingerly sat down and Jim knelt behind him. He felt the thick scraps of fabric being unwound and removed. They felt slightly cool to the touch.

“Why can’t you just conjure more wind?” Jim raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Whilst I am indeed flattered greatly by your faith in me Ross, I am a witch of words and as such I cannot control the weather.” Ross felt gentle fingers moving over his scalp, cold air soothing the ache in his head. 

“Why does being a witch of words affect your ability to control weather?” He asked. 

“Well, the elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water are very physical powers. As a witch of words, I have power over objects and people but not forces. It requires control and precision in hand movements which is not a skill I possess in excess.” Ross contemplated the gentle movements of the hands on his head and felt the need to disagree.

“So what magic can you do?” Ross asked. Jim’s hands were now trailing down his neck and the cold breeze they were creating made him shiver. 

“You must have some clue based on the title.” Jim replied mockingly. 

“I have heard some things... From Preston and Halford.” Jim chuckled, he and the girls had gotten along, even if they debated about witchlore frequently during Ross’ history lessons. 

“And what do the wise Preston and Halford say?” 

“That your kind originated from the gods of poetry and that- that you could ask someone to kill every member of their family and they would do it gladly.” Jim didn’t reply, just continued running his hands over Ross’ hair for a moment. The he hummed as if in agreement. 

“Well that is true. I could very easily do that.” Ross had barely been able to contemplate the power when he had first heard the statement but hearing it said so nonchalantly by Jim himself reminded Ross of just how powerful Jim really was. “But I can also help someone who’s grieving or allow someone to conquer their fears via my suggestions.” Ross was pretty sure that by now, the hands on his head were there purely to stroke his hair but he didn’t comment. He relaxed back, slumping against Jim’s chest slightly as the hands continued carding through his curls. 

“That sounds more like you.” He said quietly and Jim squeezed his shoulder. 

“You’re too kind pretty boy.” A moment of companionable silence drifted by as the ice started working its way through Ross’ head. He sighed and Jim’s hands drifted to slide over his cheeks, still soft still gentle. "See, how he leans her cheek upon her hand? O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" Ross smiled softly. 

“You’ve said that one before.” He replied dryly. Jim chuckled and traced Ross’ face with his hands, occasionally brushing over his top lip. Ross craned his head to look at him. 

“Well I was hoping for a different answer this time.” Ross felt a sudden boost of confidence. He gave Jim a smirk and looked pointedly at Jim’s hand where it lay on his cheek. 

“You seem to have chosen for yourself.” The answer startled a laugh from Jim and he rose, holding out a hand to pull Ross upright. 

“Touche pretty boy.” He said with a laugh. “Come on. We need to find you somewhere to sleep off that head injury.”  
___________________________________________________________________

The ship was in pretty good shape, all things considered. Ross spent most of the day laying in the bed they’d found in the one untouched room at the back of the ship, chasing away the last remnants of his apparent concussion. Jim’s magic had helped immensely and the last pinpricks of pain faded as he slept. 

The boat was an old cargo ship of some kind, judging by the oversized deck and the two huge store rooms below decks. Ross found a stack of empty barrels and crates that might have once held foods and luxuries from all over the colonies and maybe even from beyond. 

A few of the barrels still held dried meats and even some old food packs: potatoes and rice and vegetables all compressed down to be heated and eaten. Ross picked a few of the packs and carried them back up onto the deck. 

He found Jim standing by the railing of the ships, staring out into the evening sky, stained pink and orange by the sun as it bled through the clouds. Ross took a moment to admire the way Jim’s hair shone in the light. The ribbon that he usually wore to keep his ringlets at bay was gone and the dark blond curls hung down his back. He looked like an angel, Ross thought. Charming yet terrible. He cleared his throat and Jim’s head whipped round to settle on him. 

“Evening.” He greeted cheerfully. 

“Hello Ross. How’s the head?” Ross shrugged. 

“Meh. I’m alright now, mostly.” He held up the packs, waving them from side to side with a raised eyebrow. 

“How do you feel about stew?”   
___________________________________________________________________________

They ate crossed-legged by the bow of the boat as the sun set. Ross ate with his knees drawn up to his chest and Jim sat spread out beside him. 

“So how did you come to be under the command of Harker? Traversing the skies in the name of justice?” Ross finished chewing a mouthful of lamb and wiped his hands on his jacket. 

“Well. When I was younger I lived on the island of Cornwall. To the South-East of the colonies?” Jim nodded for him to continue, mouth full of his own food. “It’s a tiny island really. My dad always used to say that you could run for miles and be home in time for supper.” 

“He sounds wonderful.” Jim said softly. Ross nodded. 

“He was a miner. Both my parents were, but he used to tell the funniest stories about when he was younger. He stowed away on a big cargo barge that stopped off for a week in the harbour. Anyway, after my mother died things got a bit rough and Dad he- he tried but it was never quite the same. And Cornwall just felt stuffy and small and -” suffocating. The mines weren’t a happy place for him anymore and the absence of his mother clung to the walls. Jim gently tapped Ross’ leg with his and offered a small smile. “Then Harker breezed in with this crew of explorers and stole my heart.” They had stayed at the inn on the edge of town. Ross’ dad had been working for Mrs. Hillinger who ran the building alone after her husband had died, doing odd jobs and maintenance, so Ross spent most of his days running rampage through the hallways of the old creaking building. Ross remembered how the crew of the Demeter would monopolise the small dining room long into the night. Ross used to lay under the table, blankets curled up around him as he listened to their stories and took sips of their drinks when they weren’t looking. “I’m pretty sure I fell in love with her.” Ross mused with a smile. 

“She is something.” Jim agreed cheerfully. “Strong, gorgeous, loyal. Twelve year old you must have been entranced.” Ross, maturely, stuck out his tongue. 

“I guess I pestered them so much that they asked if I wanted to come with them. I was ecstatic and honestly, I think dad was a little relieved.” Ross knew he was a handful as a child. He couldn’t really blame his dad for welcoming a chance for Ross to be healthy and happy with someone he trusted whilst he could build up his life again. 

They sat in silence for a few moments as the sun finally sank beneath the horizon.

“What about you? How did you become the ambassador between Witches and Humans?” Jim’s face contorted and he sighed. 

“That is a very long story.” He replied. Ross shifted so that they sat closer together and braced one elbow on his knee. 

“Give me the short version?” He asked with a smile. Jim returned it and turned to face Ross head on, their faces inches apart. 

“Laurant and I used to try on all the different headdresses whilst the great meetings of the witch covens took place. The meetings used to take place in this huge colosseum in the Dilmoore’s province. Witches would come from all over the colonies, from all walks of life to discuss politics and welfare. Being young and a bit of a tearaway, I wasn’t really interested but I did love watching them all arrive. Witches from the Savannas of the Mortra plains and the remote isles of Petrive. Nidris used to bring her wolf hounds. She could talk to them and Laurent and I used to chase them around the grounds whilst they talked.” Ross chuckled at the image of young Jim tearing around some ancient colosseum, angelic and wild as tall elegant women looked on in amusement. 

“That sounds like you.” He said softly. Jim grinned and Ross felt a pang go through his chest. 

“Why thank you. My dad was on the council and when everything started kicking off with the humans they became divided. Some wanted all out war and some wanted to immediately try to negotiate peace. The half that wanted peace created a group to act as ambassadors between the two races and as children of council members, Laurant and I were the first ones that signed up.” Ross frowned. 

“So you joined out of duty?” He asked. He hadn't meant for it to sound so judgemental. People joined armies out of obligation and family ties all the time. It wasn't something to be ashamed of. Jim didn't seem to notice the tone of his question. He shook his head.

“Not just that, no. I mean, my father was a huge influence on the decision but I wanted to protect my people from the humans. And after the first case we settled, a group of human children that some elementals were planning to kill, I found that I wanted to protect them too. Good and evil isn't as abstract as people think. These children had done nothing wrong. Innocent parties were on both sides and no one deserved to suffer for the sake of such a stupid war.” His voice tightened with frustration and Ross couldn’t agree more. Though he hadn’t found out the details of the war until recently but even he could see that the war was pointless. The result of the prejudice and fear of one race towards another. 

“Divisions of men and weaponry flaunted, by death and destruction civilians are haunted, they gave us a war that nobody wanted.”

___________________________________________________________

They slept top to tail like Ross used to with his friends back on Cornwall when he was a child. They laid awake for a long time, Ross stared at the ceiling, letting the lulling of the ships gentle movements dispel his thoughts. He thought of Evette and of Harker and all the other people that the war must have touched, spreading through the colonies like a disease. How could anyone want a war like that to continue? And would even turn to murdering innocent children in order to send a message? Ross shook his head vigorously and pulled himself up to lean on his elbows in the darkness. He could hear Jim singing lowly under his breath, something slow and soft like a lullaby. 

“Your singing isn’t going to bewitch me is it?” He said into the dark. 

“Only if you want me to Pretty Boy.” Came the soft reply, there was a challenge in his voice that made Ross raise an eyebrow and sit up a little more to catch the words as they drifted from the witch's lips. 

“I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go. When all those shadows almost killed your light. I remember you said, don't leave me here alone, but all that's dead and gone and passed tonight.”

His voice was low and soft like he was cherishing each word as he sang it. The song seemed sad and almost mournful and Ross had to quell the sudden rising of tears that threaten to spill down his cheeks. 

“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light you and I'll be safe and sound.”

“That’s beautiful.” He said quietly. The singing stopped, much to Ross’ disappointment, and Ross felt like he was being observed. He blushed.

“It’s from the 21st century. My mother used to sing it to me before I went to sleep.” There was the groan of a mattress and suddenly there was a hand on his cheek. "See, how he leans her cheek upon her hand? O that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!" Ross’ breath caught in his throat as he looked at the man in front of him. A man with such words and such thoughts and such a smart mouth.

“Shut up.” He said and Jim laughed as he pulled Ross towards him, up onto his knees. 

Their mouths met languidly as they pressed their bodies together. Ross’ hands immediately reaching for those golden tresses whilst Jim’s slid around his waist. It was like a flood gate opening up. Those days spent dancing around each other, exchanging poetry and side glances all bought forward by this one all consuming and encapsulating kiss. He felt breathless and lightheaded like he was about to faint and yet fire coursed through his veins, elevating him, making him feel like he could do anything. Jim’s mouth was soft and sweet beneath his own and, oh, Ross loved it. Couldn’t imagine how he’d been without it. It was intoxicating. The warm skin against his own, the calloused hands cradling him like he was something precious. 

They broke apart gasping and Ross leaned their foreheads together, not willing to lose contact just yet. Jim was grinning. Ross blushed. 

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Grinning like that, it’s strange.” Jim shrugged and starting carding his hands through Ross’ hair. Ross leant into the touch. 

“No. I’m happy.” Ross smirked, his eyes drifting closed.

“And why is that?” Jim’s hands stopped momentarily and Ross felt his breath by his ear. 

“Because you kissed me back.” Ross’ insides flipped and he ducked his head back to hide the deepening shade of his cheeks. Jim chuckled. Ross hit him lightly on the arm and then gave a sheepish smile of his own. “Can I come and lay up that end with you then?” He asked. 

“Nothing would make me happier pretty boy.” Jim pulled them both so that they were lying side by side and wrapped an arm around Ross’ middle before promptly falling off the bed with a thump as the whole ship swayed suddenly to one side. Ross blinked in confusion before running up to the window and looking out. 

The clouds were tumbling past the sides of the ship and he could hear the whistling and shrieking of air as it rushed past them. “Well,” Jim said from where he was rubbing his head with one hand “the wind’s back.”


	9. The Lady in the Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim and Ross get a call and go to see a Lady about a map.

“Ross? Jim? Come on idiots, find the damn radio...please…” Ross startled awake and looked around wildly for the source for the noise. Jim continued to doze beside him. Ross had found that Jim snored and had found it only endearing. 

“ROSS!” Ross jumped as the voice grew louder. He frowned. 

“Preston?” He followed the sound until he discovered an old radio under the bed frame, covered in dust but somehow still working. Ross’ fingers curled around and he scooted back to the headboard before cautiously hitting the reply button. The static stopped and the light turned red.

“Hello?” He whispered. There was silence for a long moment and then,

“Ross? Oh thank god, Captain we’ve got Ross…. Yes I’ll ask now….. Is Jim there too?”

“Ah the sweet voice of a lark.” Jim’s voice was rough with sleep but his eyes were shining. “Harker, never thought I’d be happy to hear our voice. How did you find us?” There was a rustling from the other end of the line and Harker’s voice answered them.

“The boat seemed in ok shape from what we could see. Barbarac tracked the radio waves in the area that we last saw you. We’ve been tracing your signal for two days now. How’re you holding up?” Ross looked down at Jim’s arms entwined around his waist and scratched the back of his head. 

“We’re good, we’re fine. We got away. What about you? Jim said they were following you?” 

“We’re ok, we managed to lose them in the cloud belt above Petrive but we can’t stay in the air for much longer and we’re pretty certain they're still waiting for us. We’re going to try and land in Petrive but it’s not looking great.” Jim took the radio and Ross pulled himself out of the bed and went to the window. The wind was still blowing strongly.   
“Find Nidris when you land, tell her you know me. She should be able to help you. Lodgings, maybe some ship upgrades if you’re lucky.”

“Will do. Meanwhile, I want you to find the lost children.” Ross and Jim exchanged a look. Ross came back to perch on the end of the bed and Jim held the radio out so they could both have access to it. 

“What do you mean?”

“If we manage to land, we’re going to be out of commission for a while while we repair the Demeter. We can meet up once we’re back in the sky but that won’t be for a week at least. We’d just be waiting time if we waited until we’re all together again. And besides, when you two aren't spouting poetry at each other you make a good team I’m sure you can manage it between you.” There was a playful edge to her voice and Ross fought a blush. He met Jim’s eyes and found the blond was laughing at him. Dick. 

“We don't even know where they are! There’s, what three of them? The colonies are a very big place to look for three kids!”

“Three magical slave children.” Harker reminded them. Jim scoffed.

“Still a lot of ground to cover Harker… wait, I think I may know someone that can help us but she can be hard to find…” Harker sounded relieved that someone else had thought of what to do.

“Ok. Good! Ross do you still have your handheld on you?” He did, but it was completely wound down and his charging station was back on the Demeter.

“Yeah, but it’s pretty busted.” Harker sighed and there was some bustling whilst Harker inevitably talked to someone out of earshot. 

“Ok, we’ve got a schematic for your ship and it looks like there should be some form of solar charging mechanism on the second level? Charge it. I’ll have Barbarac send over some maps and I’ll get you some funds. Stock up and get flying.” Ross smiled at the familiar fire in his captain’s voice. 

“Yes captain.” 

“I’m glad you’re alright Poldark; both of you. Take care of each other you hear? Stick together.” 

The maps came through a few moments later and Ross got to studying them whilst Jim went to put the sail’s back up ready for them to sail. 

The co-ordinates Barbarac had sent him put their little ship somewhere over the bustling Outlands, the markets of the outlanders should only be a few miles to the North of them. Ross had never been but ships hailing from the Outlands would come through Cornwall all the time, bringing all the food and mining materials that they didn’t have themselves. He checked his handheld again and found what he knew to be half the Demeter’s entire funds and his eyes widened and he whistled. Jim poked his head back into the cabin. 

“We good to go?” He asked. Ross turned round to show him the screen.

“Up for a trip to the market?”  
*********************************************

Despite the name, the Outlands were only named as such because of the giant mountain that overshadowed the dock, essentially cutting off the small market town from the rest of the colonies by about five miles. Back on Cornwall, they’d only been able to afford the more basic supplies but people travelled from all over the colonies for the Outlands’ silks and furs. The Outlands was the best place to buy anything despite its small size. Boats from all over the colonies and beyond travelled there to procure supplies, jewels, food. Mercenaries showed up from miles around to purchase Luna diamonds harvested from the Patil mountains to the South. 

As the two of them docked their small ship and tied it off Jim told him that he was looking for some specific maps that could only be bought here. The crowd seemed to have a life of its own, everywhere people were laughing and talking and haggling. Children ran in between Ross’ legs as they passed the toy cart. It was so busy and vibrant that Ross felt the tiredness left over from his injuries seep away replaced with the buzz of being around happy and safe people.

He and Ross spent almost an hour simply wandering narrow streets, tasting spices and trying on frock coats before Ross stumbled into a large courtyard and spotted the low hanging parchments strung up on a wooden frame. Jim immediately started going through the stacks and stacks of maps and Ross, not knowing what they were supposed to be looking for, decided to stock up on other things whilst he waited. They met up back at the ship. Ross carried four bags of food packs, a new jacket and some parts for the radio and Jim clutched several maps under his arms and grinned. 

“Did you find what you wanted?” Ross asked, dragging the sack of supplies onto the deck and stopping to wipe his brow. The sun beat down on them, making its presence known even with the steady blowing wind.

“I did indeed.” Jim showed him a map made up of runes in a language Ross did not know. “I also got you this.” He pulled out a long swathe of fabric from his bag and held it up for Ross to see. It was pale gold and dotted with winding olive vines, flowers and birds dipping and diving in between them. Ross took it from him gently and admired it. “I remember you said you’d never been here before and that Harker usually buys them for you?” Jim said with a smile. “I thought you’d like it.” Ross stroked the silken fabric and leant forward to kiss him.

“It’s gorgeous.” He said when they pulled back. “But it’ll be a while before it hangs anywhere though.” Jim cocked an eyebrow. 

“I’m sure we could find a use for it. It would make an excellent blanket. Or perhaps a shawl.”

“Wear a swathe of fabric?” He asked dubiously. “It wouldn't even match my coat.”

“I didn't say you should wear it with a coat pretty boy.” Jim replied with a smirk. “The colours would bring out your complexion perfectly.” Ross swatted his arm softly.   
“We don't have time for this right now.” He reminded Jim in amusement. He walked past Jim and down into the ship, hearing Jim chuckle when he realised that Ross was heading down to the cabin. 

___________________________________________________________ 

After three hours of flying Jim steered the ship down onto a seemingly deserted piece of land. The boat hovered ten feet above the ground, tied to the trunk of a gnarled and twisted tree. Jim had lead them down a beaten pathway and now they were crossing a series of uneven slopes that looked like giant mole hills churning up dry and cracked earth.  
“Where are we going?” Ross asked. Jim said nothing as they continued up the hill. “We haven’t got time for this we have to find the kids.” Ross continued. Jim stopped at the top of the hill and looked around, shielding his eyes from the sun. Jim narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of a building on the horizon. “Jim? Are you listening?” Jim turned and gave Ross a relieved smile. 

“I thought she might have moved.” He said, “Look!” he pointed and Ross stepped up beside him to take a look. 

“What are we looking at here?” he asked, “a house?” Jim rolled his eyes.

“It’s the tower of Shallot.” Jim took off down the side of the hill but ground to a halt when he realised Ross wasn’t beside him. “Ross?”

“Shallot? As in the Lady of Shallot?” Jim laughed and took his hand. 

“Yes that Lady, she’s a very old very wise witch who can see the past, present and the future.” He said, by way of explanation “if anyone will know the whereabouts of the heirs she will.” Ross nodded and they continued down the hill. 

“So fill me in here.” Ross said as they approached. “I’m a little lost. Why have I never heard of this Lady before?” Jim shook his head. 

“She stays hidden a lot of the time. I only managed to find her once before… about 150 years ago.” Ross stared, eyes wide. 

“150 years ago! How old are you?” Jim made a non-committal shrug. 

“Around 400 hundred? Though my memory is not the best so I can probably only remember about half of that. Anyway, I went to see her because she can see the past, present and the future she was the best seer around.” Jim ducked to walk under the branches of a tall tree before continuing. “She lived under the care of the last seer to live there before her who taught her everything she knew. The old woman asked her to stay and carry her work once she had died but the girl fell in love with a traveller and the old woman’s spirit was outraged that the girl had gone back on her promise and cursed her to remain in the tower forever. She’s is trapped until another comes to take her place.” 

The tower of Shallot was not what Ross had been expecting. It wasn’t a tower at all, but a mansion that stood over three floors tall. As he and Jim approached the great wooden doors, Ross noticed that there were no windows. The exterior matched the poem closely enough; the walls were grey and gleamed dully in the morning sunshine. It looked more like a prison. The doors were locked and Jim pressed his hands to it and shoved. Nothing. 

“If there’s a curse then the doors aren’t going to work.” Ross said. 

“Then how do we get in?” Jim replied, frustrated he kicked at the door and grimaced as his foot hit solid wood. Ross looked around and noticed a sigil on the left side of the door.   
“What about this?” he leaned closer and saw the vague outline of a hand. He looked down at his own palm and raised it slowly, pressing it against the hardwood. There was a pause and Ross recoiled away from the wood with a yelp, his hand burning. There were scorch marks on the wood but a glance at his palm revealed that his flesh was unharmed.   
“Are you alright?” Jim hurried over and took Ross’s hand in his.

“I’m fine.” he said reassuringly. There was a low rumbling and the doors slowly opened in front of them. 

As they passed through it, the rumbling sounded again and the doors shut behind them. 

From the other side of the door it seemed to disappear. Jim pressed his hand to the wall but couldn’t locate the fault lines where the door just was. “I guess the only way is up.” Ross muttered. 

The inside of the house was dark and small, smaller than the exterior first suggested. Lines of herbs and dried flowers hung from the ceilings on strings that swung in the breeze as they opened the door. The walls were dark wood and panelled and light streamed through the building despite the lack of windows, playing across the jewels and glass pots that littered the many bookshelves that covered the back wall. Jim tilted his head to read the titles. 

“Wow, there are so many languages here. Latin, Greek, Arabic…” Ross picked up rock from the middle shelf that was decorated with brightly coloured swirls and circles printed on it. 

“These are beautiful.” he said. 

“Over here.” There was grand staircase towards the back of the room, a dark wood banister with ivy winding around it. They climbed it carefully and came to a large door.   
“What should we do now?” Ross asked quietly. 

“Well, I guess we should knock…” Jim replied, lifting his hand to the door.

“Be my guest.” 

“Either knock or go away, time wasters are not welcome here.” They recoiled from the door and it opened before them with a creak. The woman before them was not an old decrepit woman like Ross had imagined but rather a girl not much younger than them with long dark hair and pale blue eyes. She looked at them with one eyebrow raised. “You want to know something of the past? Future?” Jim shook his head. 

“The present, we need to know the whereabouts of someone. Well, multiple someone’s.”

“Why can’t you go the capital to find your friends?” the woman glared at them. 

“They’re not our friends.” Jim explained, “and they’re not people the capital are in any hurry to locate. We’ve been trusted to find them and bring them back to their homes but they were taken long ago and could be anywhere in or beyond the colonies.”

The woman looked them up and down for a long moment before opening the door fully and gesturing for them to come inside. She left the door ajar and walked ahead of them back into the room. The entire second and third floors of the house had Jim knocked through to make one giant room with high ceilings. They followed the Lady back through the stacks of books and shelves. 

“What do we call you?” Ross asked. He didn’t much like the thought of having to refer to her as ‘lady.’ The woman didn’t look round as she answered but her voice was full of sadness.

“My name has long been lost to even me…” Ross realised that they hadn't introduced themselves. 

“I’m Ross,” he said quickly, “and this is Jim.” Jim nodded his head with a lopsided grin. The Lady smiled in return.

“I have been here for so long. My life before this does not matter anymore. I am the Lady in the Tower and nothing more.”

One corner of the house had been panelled with glass and covered with a wide variety of plants until it resembled a sort of greenhouse. As they approached Jim jumped as something brushed past his ear. 

“What is that thing?” Small creatures were floating through the air. They had small bulbous heads and long flowing tentacles that propelled them through the air like they were swimming through water. A dozen or so of the creatures drifted about the room. The Lady looked over her shoulder at them as Ross ducked to let a strange creature float past his head. 

“They’re Octaines. They help to keep the air clear.” Jim reached out to tentatively follow the tendrils with a finger. 

“I’ve never heard of them before.” 

“They are bred specifically for the air in this tower. Now, follow me if you will.” Jim made to follow her and looked back just in time to see Ross’s eyes widen as an Octaine opened an impossibly wide mouth and, in one fell movement, ate a spider hanging from the ceiling hole. 

There was a clearing in the greenhouse and within it was a table set up for afternoon tea. The Lady took a seat and started dishing up sandwiches from an elaborate centrepiece and gesturing for them to do the same.

“Tea?” She asked. Ross frowned. “The tea leaves are an accurate way of learning whether your friends are in any immediate danger.” The Lady explained impatiently. “Then we can begin to locate them. But first tea, honestly the manners of the younger generations these days.” Ross and Jim gave each other a look and quietly took a seat on either side of her. “Now where is that teapot...oh come here you silly thing.” The teapot that rested on the other side of the table came tottering on spindly legs down the table. At one point it crashed into Ross’s hand. 

“Oh.” he said, nudging the teapot back to its legs and awkwardly shoving it on its way. “Sorry about that.” The pot shook its spout from side to side, not unlike a shaking of the head and made its way to the head of the table.

The tea was poured and the cakes were eaten and the Lady looked at them expectantly. 

“Now who are you?” The Lady asked, leaning forward to steady the teapot as it moved towards Ross’s cup. Ross gave it a nod in thanks as it poured itself into his cup and settled back onto its legs like a spider. 

“I am are part of the Chancellor's private force, charged with protecting innocents from this war for as long as it may go on.” Ross explained. “And this is James Hawkins, a member of the Dilmoore brother’s clan of ambassadors to the humans.” Jim smiled in greeting. 

“Please call me Jim. We need to find the lost children of the Dilmoore clan and bring them back to their elders.” The Lady’s face remained a passive mask and Ross couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She collected their cups and set about draining them.

“Why wait so long to undertake this task?” She asked as she looked. Ross looked down at the table top guiltily. 

“I was unaware of their existence until a few days ago.” He admitted. “The Chancellor of the Capital wishes to create a treaty to end the conflicts between witches and humans. He wishes us to return the children to where they belong as a peace offering and as a chance for us to undo what our ancestors did in taking them.” The Lady said nothing and continued to gaze into the cups in her hands. 

“Hmmm. A steeple, that’s not good. And a club. Let’s see…. Skull and a saucepan. Well this is troublesome…” Jim’s eyes widened. 

“Oh that’s bad.” Ross huffed in annoyance.

“And for anyone that hasn’t read tea leaves in a while?” he asked. Jim bit his lip.

“The steeple means misfortune; the club is an attack which means they’re in trouble.”

“The skull signifies the danger you will be in if you follow them.” The Lady continued. “And the saucepan tells of the many troubles that will befall you all. You will need much courage to meet them.”

“But where are they?” The Lady held up a hand and rose from the table to move back amongst the shelves. 

“That can be determined from the tapestry. No matter where they are, the tapestry will hold their image.” 

On the far side of the room hung a heavy red velvet curtain. It hung from floor to ceiling and looked about as old as the tower itself. The Lady walked over to it and pulled along elegant golden cord. The curtains swung open and an enormous tapestry was revealed. 

It wasn’t on the wall like Ross had predicted but rather, it stretched out across the floor. The lady slipped off her shoes, dainty slippers of pale gold, and padded silently to the center of the space marked out by a circle of woven thorns. Ross exchanged and look with Jim, who simply looked back at him and shrugged. “Please remove your shoes and stand beside me.” The lady said, though her eyes were closed. Ross bent to remove his boots and picked his way across the tapestry towards her. It felt like walking on very old, very delicate paper and Ross was terrified that he would put too much weight into his steps and tear it. When he reached the middle the Lady gave him a small smile. “Who is it that you seek?”

“We seek the heirs to the Dilmoore coven. We hope to reunite them with their clan.” If that meant anything to the lady her face didn’t show it. Her expression remained one of cool indifference. 

“Ok, one moment.” Her eyes closed and Ross and Jim looked at each other. A long moment passed and suddenly the tapestry seemed to writhe around them, rising and falling like waves upon the ocean. Ross watched in awe as forests sprung up from the parchment around him. A mountain rose from the far corner and tiny birds flew in circles over a painted ocean which now swirled and dipped with actual currents. Jim reached out a hand and dipped his finger into it’s depths, his finger coming away wet. Ross could see the capital and even Cornwall, the tell-tale mining caves materialising on the far side of the three dimensional map that had sprung up from nowhere. North winds blew across the room, swirling in shades of pale green and blue, ruffling Ross’ hair as it past him and disappeared as it reached the edge of the map. 

The Lady’s face was frozen in a serene bliss and her eyes glazed over, turning so white that there was barely any pupil left visible at all. Ross looked away, a little uncomfortable. The map zipped around them, moving like old cinema film. Trees and lakes and mountains moved past them in an instant with a low whistling sound until suddenly, everything stopped. The Lady’s eyes opened and there was brief glow before they regained their clear blue colour. Her shoulder relaxed and she stepped forward. Ross and Jim followed her, looking around at the changing environment. They were standing in a dessert like clearing, the sun beating down relentlessly on deep orange sand that shifted and changed easily underfoot. Ross held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and looked around him. There was some sort of camp set up to their left and the impossible looming shadow of what looked like a coliseum of some sort just beyond the horizon. A camp fire was underway outside the makeshift tents and a group of men and women dressed in fine white silks exited the largest of the tents and gathered around it. Ross made to hide but Jim took his hand and shook his head softly with a smile. 

“They can’t see us,” he whispered, “The Lady can see everywhere in and around the colonies. We are not actually here.” Ross nodded but decided to stay quiet anyway, just in case. They turned back to the scene in front of them, hands still clasped. A tall man with a crooked nose and a permanent sneer took a bowl of foul smelling yellow mush and walked towards the tent at the very edge of the camp. Jim tugged his hand and they followed after him. 

The flap of the tent was ajar and inside a single girl was chained to the central beam. Her body slumped against her restraints. She looked deathly pale, her hair hanging limp and unwashed around her face. The only part of her that held any sort of energy was her eyes, which glared up at the man definitely and full of years of hatred. The man laughed and threw the bowl down in front of her. 

“Don't look at me like that, you have your greatest fight yet tomorrow! You and your fellow fighters get to go up against seven of the greatest fighters of the west. You must eat up and do me proud.” The girl didn't respond only glared and the man laughed cruelly, pulling the weak girl into his arms and spoon feeding her like a child. The girl tried to resist but her muscles betrayed her and she went slack, unable to do anything but glare and accept spoon after spoon of the foul mush. Jim sighed. 

“Looks like that’s our girl.” He said sombrely. Ross nodded in agreement, watching the scene unfold before him with a cold fury that curled in the pit of his stomach like ice. He looked away. 

“Makes me sick to think you can treat someone like that.” He murmured. The girl was obviously not looked after and forced to fight for the amusement of rich human bastards with no other ways of entertaining their sick barbaric minds. 

“Most people don't view us as a ‘someone.’” Jim replied quietly, squeezing Ross’ hand and leading him from the tent and back into the stagnant desert air. Several more tents littered the campsite and Ross realised that they must be the other fighters. More slaves both human and witch. “Come on.” Jim said grimly. “We have two more to find.”   
The Lady was waiting for them on the same spot, the sigil beneath her bare feet the only sign that this was indeed still the map and not an actual desert. She took their hands again and the environment went flying around them again. When the winds settled Ross blinked at the sudden darkness all around them. He looked up and frowned. It wasn’t like the natural night sky he’d seen on Cornwall or even aboard the Demeter. The sky was completely void of stars and the moon was nowhere to be seen. There was only an endless black void filling the the space above them. They were stood outside a bar with bright neon lights that washed the street outside in a hazy yellow glow. Through the window they saw a tall dark haired woman with soft curling hair and wild dark eyes accentuated by thick dark makeup, she walked through the bar with a deliberate swagger of her hips and a coy smile on her lips. Ross’ eyes widened as he looked at her.

“What is it?” Jim asked, seeing the look on Ross’ face. 

“That woman. I know her, she and the captain used to have a relationship. She would visit the Demeter all the time. I can’t remember her name though.. We didn’t talk all that much.” He looked up at the exterior of the bar. “This must be her bar in the red light district. She used to talk about it all the time.” A young boy was delicate features and cropped blonde hair walked out of an adjoining room, grimacing as an old man sat at the bar patted his ass as he passed. The second of the Dilmoore’s clan’s successors. There was a brand on his left wrist, faded and angry against his skin. A bright fake smile fixed itself onto his face as he served the customers. Ross noticed the dark haired woman look over at the boy every now and then, checking up on him and frowning when the patrons got too handsy. A man approached the woman and asked her something quietly that made her frown and look away before reluctantly nodding. She called the boy over and the man took the boy's hand tightly in his and lead him from the room. The boy glanced back at the woman as they left, a resigned and dead look in his eyes. Ross sighed and took a step back from the window and reached up a hand to run them through the hair at that nape of Jim’s neck. 

“We’ll get him out of there.” He said quietly. Jim turned to look at him over his shoulder and nodded silently. 

“I just- I used to see these kids running around, having fun and now they’re so far away and so lonely Ross I just-” Ross stepped forward and pulled him into a hug, squeezing tightly for a long moment. 

“I promise you that we will save them and we will make sure they get back to those who care about them and no one will ever hurt them again.” 

The world swerved around them once more and, as the dust settled around them, Ross recognised the familiar sight of the Outlands docks. A tall dark haired youth wearing a long dusty coat with a hood that hid their face. Wisps of dark hair were teased by the wind around their face and a handkerchief tied around their mouth and nose completely obscured the lower half of their face. They walked slowly through the crowds, avoiding the busiest areas. Ross and Jim shared a look. “That’s the Outlands market! Jim we can be there in a couple of hours.” Jim was already turning back to the Lady. 

“Come on then! Let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Lady of Shalot is property of Tennyson - I only used her as a seer cause she's amazing and I love the poem.


	10. Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ross and Jim race to the Outland Markets to track down the first of the missing children but run straight into more trouble...

The Lady was staring somewhat dreamily up into the darkened sky, her arms held loosely by her sides palms reaching for the heavens. Jim tapped her urgently on the shoulder, pulling Ross along with his other hand. The Lady blinked and looked down at him with a nod. The world whirled around them once again standing barefoot in the centre of the Lady’s tower. The Lady faltered slightly as her eyes faded back to normal and Jim caught her as she stumbled forward.

“Are you alright?” he asked. The Lady nodded and gestured at the table they’d been sitting at.

“Sometimes it takes a lot out of me. I’ll be fine.” Jim lead her over and lowered her into a chair. Ross poured the still hot tea into her cup and handed it to her. She looked up at him with a soft smile. “You need to go,” she said. Ross nodded.

“Yes, we do. Thank you so much for helping us.” He leant down and placed a kiss on her forehead. The Lady bowed her head slightly and made a dismissive gesture with her hands. 

“Yes yes, you’re very welcome. Now go! They need you.” The door to the tower opened behind them and Ross took Jim’s hand as they raced down the stairs and back out into the afternoon air.

For two painfully long hours Ross waited at the bow of the ship, fingers twisted nervously in his lap as Jim steered them towards the Eastern horizon. He hadn’t expected the two of them to locate one of the children so quickly. Ross had no idea what he was going to say once they had found this kid. They’d been taken from their homes and forced into unimaginable situations and up until he’d left the tower Ross hadn’t thought about how he and Jim would convince them, how could they possibly reassure them and make them believe that they were wanted and important when assholes across the colonies had done their utmost to convince them of the opposite? The feelings of dread and anxiety and anger swirled around inside him getting stronger the farther they flew.

By the time the ship reached the docks the sky was starting to darken and Ross felt more anxious than ever. He watched Jim as he tethered the ship, handing down both of their packs with shaky hands. Jim looked back at him, concern obvious in his eyes. 

“You ready?” Ross sighed heavily. He had to try, the colonies needed them. He had to try, for their sakes. He nodded quickly.

“Let’s go.” Jim nodded and took Ross’ hand in his, leading them into the steady stream of market goers. 

The market was different at night: A long line of glittering strings of lights wound around every conceivable surface which illuminated the docks in a soft glow that should have been comforting and magical but it seemed instead to add to the sinister feeling in the air. All of the rich visitors looking for souvenirs for their loved ones and the merchants transporting luxury goods had long since packed up and shipped out. Leaving only the locals and those looking to operate on the black market to roam through the stalls as the sun dipped below the horizon. Children ran under stalls and into the streets playing with hovering devices or some of the left over trinkets from the pop-up stalls. They ducked and weaved amongst the menacing looking adults seemingly without fear. Ross couldn’t make claim to the same bravado. 

It took them an entire hour to navigate their way back to where they’d seen to child in the Lady’s vision. After asking several stall holders if they’d seen them, a tall man with long grey hair and a scar running down the whole left side of his face mentioned seeing a young woman matching the description heading down towards the housing facilities on the other side of the market. 

“You’ll be wanting to find your friend soon lads.” The man had said as they’d turned to leave. “The market will be closing soon. No one but gangs and witches move around once the markets close for the night.” He practically spat the words. Ross gritted his teeth, thanked him politely and practically dragged Jim away from the stall. They passed through alley ways and down the winding back streets until they reached a stone archway that lead into a small courtyard where a few more stalls stood. 

It was obvious that they were in the corner of the island not meant for tourists. The stalls here were all lopsided and missing the cheerful colours of the others that they had passed. Ross spotted a figure leaning over one of the stalls. She wore a long dusty coat with a hood pulled up to hide her face. He tapped Jim on the shoulder and pointed at them. 

“I think that’s our girl.” He said quietly. They passed the archway, immediately becoming aware that several people were looking at them. Ross reached for his pistol instinctively before realising that he’d left it back in the ship. 

“Fuck.” Jim raised an eyebrow at him. “I left my gun back on the ship.” Jim looked around as if he’d just noticed that they were being watched and his face split into a smile which Ross realised he’d missed over the past few days. 

“Me too.” Jim replied, squeezing Ross’ hand in his. “I’ll protect you pretty boy.” Ross raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to dig Jim in the ribs. “So how're we going to do this?” Ross looked at the stall once more and smiled.

“I've got an idea.”

*************************************

Caine’s stomach had never felt so empty. After an entire week riding non-stop from Southern mountains of Patil, she could finally take some rest and get back to more familiar territory. She reached into her pocket for the remainder of that day’s payment and counted out the coins in her palm. Just enough. She grinned wildly, rushing the rest of the deliveries and practically sprinting towards the arch way. Colleen's stall would still be open and her turnovers would make the perfect coming home present for the triplets. Seeing the grins on their grubby little faces would make Caine’s whole week worthwhile.

Colleen’s stall was indeed still open. The courtyard marking the entrance to the residences of the Outlands market was tucked away of the far side of the island to prevent too many of the tourists from finding it and Caine slipped easily between the familiar stone archway and into the comforting lights of Circe’s lanterns. Caine wondered whether Circe and Marden had argued over which colour to make them again and whether Reuben had ended up making the final choice. The thought made her smile at the silly domesticity of her makeshift family. 

Colleen was a very old very kind woman with unfortunate dental hygiene and long silver hair that always looked like spun silk no matter the weather or the circumstances. Caine was convinced it was a sort of magic, one less thing to worry about. Colleen greeted her with the usual toothless smile and sparkling eyes.

“Caine, you’re home!” Caine chuckled and reached her hand into her pocket for the coins. 

“Hey Colleen, hopefully that’ll be it for me for a few weeks. I’m not taking another job from Francis for a while...” She dropped the coins into Colleen’s upturned palm and started picking out a pastry for each of the triplets and herself as well as a few loaves of bread and an unknown meat wrapped in piping hot pastry. 

“You haven't been eating properly dear," Colleen said disapprovingly. Caine looked down at herself. She supposed she was looking a little thin, a little bedraggled but it was nothing a good shower could fix and perhaps one of Marden's 'wake me up' potions... 

"Heads up.” Colleen said suddenly. Caine went stock still. It could one of Francis’ men with another job but they usually waited at least a day before asking her to get some pointless trinket from the backyard of beyond. She kept her head facing the stall and looked behind her out of the corner of her eyes. Two men were walking into the courtyard, hand in hand. The taller of the two was brunette with intense brown eyes that moved constantly from side to side. The blond man next to him was less obviously nervous and Caine couldn’t shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before. She tried to focus on his face but no memories came back to her. Once she’d deduced that neither of them were Francis’ men she relaxed a little but kept herself poised; ready to run at a moment's notice. 

They stopped beside Caine and contemplated the pastries before them. Blondie picked up a turnover and scrutinised it.

“What is this?” He asked. The tall guy dropped a few coins into Colleen’s hand and took the pastry from him. 

“it's a turnover Jim, try it.” He held the turnover up to Jim’s face and there was silence for a few moments.

“Oh my god that- that is heavenly.” It sounded like genuine awe in his voice and Caine almost smiled: Colleen’s turnovers were renowned in the markets. She could practically feel the old woman swell with pride at the compliment.

“Well thank you sir.” Colleen’s voice was at least an octave higher and held none of the suspicion usually reserved for strangers. Caine held back a chuckle. “What are the two of you doing here after dark?” It sounded innocent enough but there was an edge of suspicion. Jim’s dark haired companion either ignored the subtle probing or didn't hear it, he simply started loading up the satchel over his shoulder with pastries and holding out more money for Colleen to take. 

“Well apart from buying your sinfully delicious baked goods.” Interesting. Subtle interrogation noted and countered. Flattery got you everywhere with Colleen. 

Colleen giggled and flushed as if to prove Caine’s point. “We're actually looking for someone.” The tension skyrocketed and Caine started subtly moving away from the stall. If two random strangers were looking for someone in the market it was usually I'm pursuit of her or the triplets for causing trouble. 

“I see.” Colleen said slowly, voice once again hard and protective. Caine looked around frantically for the best escape route. Going through Lucille’s Tech Shop would be quicker but if she went through the butchers she would be out of sight quicker...

“Yes we were wondering if you'd seen around young girl around? A witch?” Lucille’s it is. Caine made for it and ran straight into something hard right in front of her. She shook her head to clear her vision and looked up into the face of Julius: one of Francis’ henchmen. She groaned not entirely inwardly. 

“Julius! What a surprise to see you here! I was actually on my way home for a long awaited rest so no more jobs until at least next fortnight thank you.” She made to slip under his arm but he side stepped back into her path. So much for the easy way out. “What do you want?” Julius had no noticeable sense of humour, no patience and a face that Caine was convinced not even his mother could love. He continued to glare coolly at her like she hadn’t even spoken. 

“These jewels you sent Francis this afternoon.” He stated. His mouth didn’t even seem to move when he spoke and Caine found it very off putting. She crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn’t surprised in the slightest that the diamonds weren’t real. The seller was shifty as fuck and the diamonds were strangely light in her bag the whole flight home. That and the fact that the specialist she’d taken them to at the bottom of the Patil mountains had told her so. But that was none of her business so she’d bought the diamonds back anyway. 

“Julius I am devastated for Francis and you can tell him I said that, be sure to use my exact words: ‘devastated.’ However I fail to see what I am supposed to do about the situation. I didn’t know they were fake and I am not flying all the way back to Patil to swap them out right now. He can pay someone else to do it or you can wait for for me to have a break.” Caine once again chanced an escape attempt and once again Julius moved into her way. 

“Come on Caine cut the crap. I know you would have checked so give me back the money and you can go back for the real thing next week.” Caine snorted and Julius bristled. “I’ve also been told to inform you that Katja seems to play around Lewis’ stall by the fountain. It would be a shame if she were to fall in one of these days wouldn't it?” Caine ground her teeth and pulled herself up to her fall height. 

“You do not get to threaten my family.” She said, her voice dropping dangerously low. She was distantly aware that Jim and his boyfriend were staring open mouthed but she ignored them as Julius glared right back at her. “You can tell Francis no; I spent the money on food and this amazing coat,” she pointed to the coat in question, “so he will have to find someone else.” 

The only thing worse than Julius’ appearance was his temper. Caine had obviously upset him. It was probably the coat comment. He reeled back a hand and made to punch her, Caine ducked and reeled back her own fist, using her lack of height to her advantage and arching her fist upwards. It connected sharply with Julius’ chin and the momentum of the hit sent him falling backwards. An impressed gasp sounded behind her and Caine made to turn when another man suddenly burst out of the adjoining alley and made right for her. Caine squared her shoulders, ready to launch herself at the man and hopefully throw him off balance when suddenly Jim was stood in front of her, arms outstretched. The dark haired guy made to join him but Jim held up hand. 

“Ross stay behind me, if you get in the way you’ll break my concentration.” There was flirting involved there somewhere. If Caine wasn’t very confused about why they were defending her she would have laughed. Ross stayed by her side and Jim started muttering words in a low voice. It sounded like the same tone of voice Circe used when she performed a light spell on the lanterns.

Caine couldn’t make out the words. She leant forward to try to catch the end of Jim’s spell but quickly gave up and watched how it was affecting Francis’ henchman. He looked as if he was fighting to keep control of his body, his veins straining under the skin of his arms. His knuckles had gone white from the effort to keep it raised as Jim gestured for it to slowly fall to his side. 

“You are going to turn around and walk back to where you came from.” Jim said softly. “If you see any of your associates on the way you will tell them that you took care of the matter in hand and that they can all go back home. Do you understand?” The man was livid but nodded his head jerkily. Jim dropped his hands with a smile and gestured for the man to turn round. “Off you go now.” The man muttered to himself as he turned stiffly and walked away from them back into the alleyway without so much as a backwards glance.  
Jim didn’t lower his hands until the man was completely out of sight. He and Ross turned to look at her and Caine thought that she ought to say something.

“Witch of words huh?” She'd never seen one in person before Ruben had told her about them when she was younger and still trying to discover what sort of witch she was. “Who are you?” Jim and Ross exchanged glances and Ross opened is mouth to speak, his face a mask of determination.

“Hey!” All three of them recoiled away from the shout and whirled round. Caine sighed. 

“Threes. Of course they always travel in threes. Okay.” She turned back to Ross and Jim and beckoned them to follow her. “Follow me and keep up.” She didn’t bother checking to see of they were following her, Ross swore loudly and Jim muttered a “you cannot be serious” and then all three of them were bolting for the Lucille’s.


	11. Blood is Equal to water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caine, Ross and Jim manage to escape their pursuers and find themselves in the underground tunnels that Caine calls home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beata'd by the lovely Foxfinding - thank my love x  
> I hope you guys enjoy xD

Ross struggled to keep up as he and Jim followed Caine in her race through the market stalls. He could hear the man following closely behind them, footsteps pounding closer and closer. 

“Do they ever give up?” He muttered. 

“Not really. It's pretty much the only thing they have going for them.” Caine replied breathlessly. She veered left to avoid a few children playing with a ball by the side of the walkway and Ross almost tripped in his haste not to kick the smallest of them as he raced by. The market seemed endlessly huge to him now; almost like a labyrinth; a maze of stalls and people that all looked the same. If it were not for Caine, Ross was certain that he and Jim would be caught within moments. Her feet worked tirelessly over the uneven terrain - hopping over stalls, taking corners with pinpoint accuracy. She had lived in this market for a very long time and it showed in how she navigated it. 

As they reached another archway, this one even more decrepit than the last, she ducked into a small side street and muttered a few words under her breath. A section of the wall seemed to melt away and in its stead stood a long dark cavern sloping gently downwards. 

“In. Now!” She shouted. Ross and Jim exchanged a look and they both made for the opening. Caine came last, hitting some sort of metal contraption on the wall that looked vaguely like a switch. The bricks re-solidified just as the man rounded the corner. 

The light was blocked out entirely by the stone and the three of them were plunged into darkness. Ross could hear both Caine and Jim panting heavily beside him and he reached out blindly until he found Jim’s hand. Jim’s calloused fingers squeezed his tightly. 

“Everyone okay?” His voice was hoarse and whispered, still nervous of their proximity to the man outside their hiding spot. Ross mumbled his assurance and Caine started walking away from them back towards the entrance.

“Stupid lights always fail… just let me.. Ah!” Lights not dissimilar to the ones Ross had seen as they’d arrived at the docks flickered into life on the ceiling above them like stars in the sky. The bare earth was drenched in a soft yellow glow and Ross could finally make out where they were. 

The three of them were standing in a small pocket of space at the opening of a long tunnel. The walls sloped in a cylindrical fashion like a mole hole and loose clumps of earth were piled up along its perimeters. The tunnel itself seemed endless, it spanned five feet across and they were at least seven feet tall. Entranceways cut the tunnel off at intersections - the fairy lights giving everything a hazy warm light. Caine made a satisfied noise and rejoined them at the mouth of the tunnel.

“I’m home!” Her voice echoed off the walls and all was silent for a few moments before three small children suddenly burst from an unseen doorway about twenty meters down and came running towards them. Ross flattened himself against the wall as they streaked past him and fell into Caine’s arms, knocking her to the floor in a giant heap of limbs. Caine gave a warm laugh - the first Ross had heard from her. Ross couldn’t help but grin as he watched them. 

The three children were not related to Caine, that much was certain on their appearance. Of the two boys clambering over her, one had rich tawny skin and piercing blue eyes and the other was fair and covered in freckles - his hair a bright auburn that glinted into the low lighting. The girl managed to climb her way onto Caine’s shoulder swished her dark hair over her shoulders triumphantly. Neither he or Jim said anything as they watched the reunion happening in front of them with fond smiles. 

Caine climbed to her feet, a boy hanging off either arm and the little girl still gripping onto her head from the spot atop her shoulders. Caine gave them both a glance and gestured to each child. 

“This is Katja, Gavrin and Luke affectionately known as the triplets. This is Ross and Jim - I saved their asses in the market place and now they owe me so you guys ask for as many shoulder rides as you want kay?” Gavrin immediately latched himself onto Ross’s leg and he bent to pick the wriggling child up and place him onto his own shoulders. Jim graciously knelt to allow Luke to clamber onto his back. “It’s a good thing that I was there or you guys would have been toast.” Caine said nonchalantly, already strolling down the tunnel. Ross and Jim exchanged a glance and struggled to keep up under the weight of two squirming boys. 

“Didn’t we save your ass?” Ross asked, eyebrow raised. 

“And actually we weren’t there by accident.” Luke’s arm tightened considerably as he started to slip from his perch and Jim’s eyes bulged for a second before he manages to hike the kid back up into a manageable position. “We came to find you actually. Caine, Ross and I are-” 

“Caine, is that you?” A male voice echoed off the walls around them and a tall man appeared from an adjacent doorway. His skin was the same warm russet brown as Gavrin’s and his eyes were wide and bright. Long dark hair was braided expertly over one shoulder. He held a book in one hand, the cover old and scuffed. His smile turned to confusion when he saw Ross and Jim behind her. “And you’re not alone?” Caine hummed in a ‘not-exactly’ fashion and the man immediately slumped. “What happened this time?”

“Francis’ men. In the market place. The diamonds weren't real. He threatened Katja, Marden - said that he knew where she played and that if I didn’t start cooperating she’d have an ‘accident.’” Caine absently stroked the young girl’s leg as she spoke. Marden sighed and shook his head.

“They’re not gonna back down Caine. One day they won’t take no for an answer.”

“Who exactly is this Francis?” Ross asked politely. Marden turned to him with a start, like he’d forgotten he and Jim were there. 

“Oh! Yeah, sorry. Come in.” He turned away from them and the five of them followed him back into the room he’d come from. “I am Marden, Caine’s father.” Ross felt a thick feeling of guilt settle on his chest. He managed to choke out his own name.

The room had surprisingly high ceilings and, just like back at the tower, the ceiling itself was covered in hanging baskets and lengths of rope that held various herbs and other foodstuffs. Along one wall was a cooking space and along the other: a large bookshelf. At the centre stood a low wooden table with mismatched chairs huddled around it. The air smelt like earth and rosemary. 

“I’m Ross Poldark, this is Jim Hawkins.” Jim smiled but didn’t speak. Marden seemed not to notice and moved swiftly on to answer Ross’s question. 

“Francis owns the markets. Or, near enough. He controls what comes in and out, how the food is distributed and who get the most patrons.”

“A few decades ago he started asking us to do some jobs for him: deliveries, mostly.” Caine took over, carefully lowering Katja to the floor who immediately took off out of the room and further down the tunnel. The boys struggled until Ross and Jim put them down and they raced off after their sister. Ross straightened up with a frown.  
“He wanted to work with witches?” He asked. He hoped the surprise in his voice wouldn’t cause offense. He was still fairly new to the hostile relationships between the two races. Caine scowled.

“He wants to show off. Show he can be all powerful and have the ‘savages’ at his beck and call.”

“Before Caine came along he wanted to recruit Circe for the way she manipulates light. The more powerful the witches abilities the more he wants to prove he can control it. Circe refused - Caine did not - despite our warnings. Francis knows we need the money so Caine takes the jobs.”

“Although I give him a little fuck you here and there.” Caine shrugs as she moves away from them and dropped her bag onto the table. On closer inspection there were what looked like scorch marks littered over the wooden surface. “No one tells me what to do.” Her voice dropped, no confident humour, only hard truth. Like the statement was a challenge; a grim promise to anyone who thought otherwise. Ross fought a shiver. 

“How many of you are down here?” He asked. Marden replaced the book on one of the shelves and walked back to the table where Caine was busy prying off her boots. 

“A few. There’s the seven of us and then there’s a few other families a few streets over and another couple on the other side of the island.” Ross’ eyes widened. He hadn’t realised the tunnels went on for quite that long. 

“The tunnels are all over the island?” Marden nodded.   
“Built them all ourselves! We only finished a few months ago.” Caine put her boots on the table. Marden scowled and immediately swept them onto the floor with an elegant wave of his arm. Jim had been reading the spines along the bookshelf and he turned around like he’d just remembered something.

“Who are the other two?” Jim asked, tilting his head to one side. “You said there were seven of you?” Marden opened his mouth to answer when a set of voices drifted towards them. A moment later a man and a women entered the room. The woman looked immediately on edge as she entered the room; her green eyes darting first to Ross and Jim before settling on her husband. Her features were sharp and cunning, her red hair framing her face like fire. She reminded Ross of the foxes back on Cornwall - their darting movements and effortless grace and the way they scrutinised your every move to decide whether you were a threat and needed to be taken down. The man seemed marginally relaxed in comparison. He had an overall more friendly looking stance and his eyes showed his surprise but they weren’t hostile as far as Ross could determine. Caine rushed forward to hug them both tightly round the middle and Marden planted soft kisses on each of their cheeks. 

“Well then!” The second man said, rubbing his hands together with a wide grin. “Who do we have here?” Marden pulled back from hugging Circe and gestured to Ross and Jim in turn.

“This is Ross and Jim, they helped Caine in the market today. Gentlemen, the loves of my life: Luke and Circe.” Jim was looking at Circe with wide eyes. A small smile played on his lips. 

“Circe? You control light. Those are your lanterns outside?” Circe nodded, still wary. Jim sounded excited as if he was meeting an old friend. He walked forward a few steps and Circe frowned at him. 

“How do you know that?” 

“You used to be on the council - I was only young when we met but you put on light displays for us once it got dark. They were the best fireworks I’d ever seen!” Circe’s expression cleared, going from confused to happy to disbelieving. 

“That was a long time ago. Before the war started even - you were a child of one of the members?” Jim nodded feverently. 

“My father was on the council. Johnathan Hawkins? He was a witch of words like me.” Circe’s eyes softened and she reached out to place a hand on Jim’s shoulder. 

“Jim Hawkins? I remember! What a sweet little kid you were!” Ross watched the exchange quietly from beside Marden, not sure what to say. He was suddenly very aware that he was the only human in the room, and that he still had very limited knowledge of the council or anything else for that matter. Jim looked so happy talking to someone who was there and who came from more or less the same place as him. Ross smiled gently and left them to it, following Marden’s movements as he walked back and forth across the room, watching him pluck ingredients here and there and depositing them onto the table. 

“I didn’t know you were on the council.” He heard Caine say quietly and suddenly the nausea from earlier had returned. Circe looked similarly alarmed by the turn the conversation was taking. 

“It was a long time before we even found you love, to be honest I’d forgotten about it for a long time…” 

“Found her?” Ross asked. She hadn’t been sold to Francis? By the look of Jim’s face he must have been thinking something similar. 

“They found me wandering the markets years ago.” Caine explained, her face drawn into an anxious expression. “I was taken from home a long time ago by humans and they tried to sell me on but no one wanted me. I was really scrawny back then; weak in every sense of the word, a real crybaby too. When they realised no one wanted me they just left. Dropped me at the side of the road like rotten fruit and fucked off.” 

“I stayed scrawny for a really long time before I started growing,” her voice shifted as she tried to inject some humour into her words but it sounded a touch forced. “It’s a good thing I did though! Or you two would be pretty screwed right now huh? You really should be more careful where you decide to go on your dates.” Jim looked at the ground for a few seconds and Ross’ stomach clenched as he opened his mouth. 

“Actually, we weren’t here by circumstance. We came looking for you Caine.” Ross fidgeted uncomfortably in the silence that followed. There really was no tactful way of going about this. Jim must have realised it also. 

“I don't understand what you mean.” Caine said, genuinely puzzled. Ross chanced a look at the other three in the room. Circe, Marden and Luke didn’t look surprised in the slightest - more disappointed. They must have known someone would come back for her and maybe they had told her as much, but they hadn’t realised that it would be today. Ross was suddenly furious that they hadn’t come sooner. That no one else had been sent decades ago. This was not fair to any of them. Jim bit his lip and answered her.  
“We were asked by the Chancellor of the Capital to help start work for a treaty to end the war once and for all. He asked us to locate the three heirs to the Dilmoore clan that his ancestors had wrongfully taken back when it all started.” Ross felt like he should be saying this but seeing the way Caine had interacted with the triplets - with her family - made him choke on his words before they could even escape his throat. So he kept quiet and let Jim say what they had come here to say. “We learnt that Caine was one of three children of the Dilmoore clan and we’ve come to take her back.” Caine stood still by her side, hands balled into fists, her mouth set in a grim line. 

The silence that followed was a pregnant one. Marden, Circe and Luke kept trying to steal glances a Caine who remained stubbornly staring at Jim. Ross opened his mouth in an effort to find something, anything, to say.

“Look I know that this is an all round shit situation but-”

“Bullshit!” Ross flinched momentarily as he met Caine’s eyes across the room, they swirled in barely contained rage and anguish. When he didn’t reply she returned her steely gaze to Jim who returned it with indifference betrayed only by the slight trembling of his clenched hands. “What you’re just going to turn up out of the blue over a hundred years after you abandoned me and think it would all be okay? That I’ll just trust you after what happened? I thought you were my family. I was so sure you would come back for me but you never did and now you’re here and you just think that I- that I’ll-” She rounded on Ross who steeled himself to meet her gaze head on. He and Jim had made her feel like this. It was only right they listened to what she had to say. “You’re a human for fuck’s sake! It was your people that did this to me in the first place! You took me from my home, beat me and tried to sell me like I was a goddamned piece of cattle why would I ever trust you!” 

A bright light started to emanate from Caine’s fingertips as she continued to stab them accusingly at Ross. It rose from her shoulders like steam and streamed from the ends of her hair until she was almost completely enveloped in it. She looked like the images of angels Ross had seen in the old mythology books he used to read; breathtakingly beautiful and utterly decimating if you got too close. Caine started shaking violently, the light still pouring off of her so brightly Ross could barely see a foot in front of him. 

Someone grasped his shoulder and suddenly Jim was in front of him, one hand clutching the fabric of his shirt. Ross blinked rapidly to dispel the bright spot dancing before his eyes and gently touched Jim’s shoulder. Caine seemed to have taken after Circe, or at least she seemed to have picked up some of her mother’s knowledge. 

Marden and Luke moved quickly, almost too quickly for Ross to make out. They grabbed one arm each and held her steady whilst Circe tipped Caine’s chin up to meet her gaze.   
“You know that Ross was not responsible.” Circe murmured soothingly. “Caine - calm down. Just breathe.” Caine visibly struggled to control herself and, gradually, the light retracted itself. “That’s it baby girl, you’re alright, we’re here.” Caine took a deep breath and locked eyes with Ross over Jim’s shoulder. 

“I have a family. They love me and they would never leave me.” She turned and stalked from the room leaving silence in her wake. 

********

“Jim I’m fine I keep telling you, I barely got singed.” Jim’s hands lingered worryingly over his face and Ross tried his best not to blush. It was true, apart from a few burnt hairs and some bright spots that danced before his eyes, Ross was completely fine physically. Psychologically: it felt like he was caught in a warzone. 

“Witches of the light can have some nasty tricks up their sleeves,” Jim said softly, running his hands over Ross’ face, “and Caine doesn’t seem to be able to control that aspect of her powers so I would rather be safe than sorry pretty boy.” 

After Caine had stormed out of the room Luke had shown them to a small room down the hallway with a polite smile.

“We don’t blame the two of you,” he’d said as they walked, “Caine doesn’t either, not really. We always knew that they would come back for her - no matter how much time passed. There are people who care about her. It’s just that- Caine never believed us.” Luke had bid them both goodnight and left without looking back. 

They sat facing one another on the small bed as Jim checked him over for injuries. 

“You know, this is becoming a habit,” Ross turned his head one way and then the other, “me getting hurt and you playing doctor.” Jim cocked an eyebrow and tipped Ross’ chin until they were only inches apart. 

“Well, you need to be more careful. You can be very reckless you know.” He pressed a kiss to Ross’ mouth and pulled back. Ross melted into him and felt a lazy smile tug at his lips. 

“Maybe I’ll start glowing as well.” He said with a grin. 

“Well you are under a lot of stress.” Jim mused. “I’d say you would be positively glowing with light right now.” Under a lot of stress. Caine had been happy when they’d first met her. Running for her life and threatened but happy. She was with people that meant something to her and that made her feel safe no matter what life threw at her. And here they’d come to take her from all of it for what? Duty? The half assed promise of a treaty? 

Ross scooted back until his back rested against the cool wall of the earthen tunnel. “Is it really right to expect this of them?” He muttered quietly. Jim looked down at his hands.   
“I honestly don’t know.” He replied. “Caine deserves happiness. As much as we can claim that she will find a family back with the Dilmoore’s, the one she has here is every bit as important. Family is family.” Ross thought of his mother and his father and of the crew of the Demeter. Both equally important to him and both had played a part in shaping the man Ross was today. 

“We just have to try to make her see that ending this war is the best way to get her family out if these tunnels and into the world. Into a world where they don’t have to compete to eat at the end of the day and where they won’t be spat at or harassed on the streets.” Jim moved to sit beside him and slung an arm around Ross’ shoulders. 

“No pressure then pretty boy.” He said. Ross let out a huffed laugh. “What?” Ross smiled. 

“No poetry to give the conversation a certain flourish?” He teased. Jim grinned. 

“Well I have one but it’s rather childish, my mother used to say it to me when I was young,” Ross nuzzled his way into the crook of Jim’s neck.  
“Somebody said that it couldn't be done, 

but, he with a chuckle replied that "maybe it couldn't,"   
but he would be one who wouldn't say so till he had tried.  
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin on his face.   
If he worried he hid it.   
He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it.” Ross chuckled and kissed Jim’s cheek with a flourish. 

“Excellently said. And I have the perfect thing to toast with.” He crawled forward to take his bag from it’s place at the foot of the bed and pulled out the pastries he’d bought from Colleen’s stall. “Apple turnovers.” He turned back to find Jim looking at him with such tenderness it made Ross shiver. He crawled back up the bed to straddle the blond’s thighs. 

“Well hello there.” Jim said softly, his hands automatically coming up to support Ross’ hips. Ross took a moment to revel in the warmth of Jim’s hands through his shirt before splitting one of the still warm pastries in half and presenting half to Jim’s waiting lips. Soft lips and tongue met his fingertips as Jim took a bite. Ross sighed raggedly and raised his own half to his mouth. 

“To family. And to whatever we need to do to keep them close. May tomorrow bring better things.”


	12. Solar is stellar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With tensions already high from their arrival, Jim and Ross awaken to the news that their new safe haven might not be so safe after all...

The first thing Ross saw when he awoke was the top of Jim’s head. The witch was curled right up into Ross’ side, arms draped over his chest and legs entangled with his own. A soothing warmth emanated from the blond that made Ross sigh and sink back into the cosy recesses of the mattress. There were no windows in the room - the only light came from the dozen candles that floated quietly above their heads. It made the room have the quiet feeling of the middle of the night: peaceful and silent. Ross ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to sweep the curls from his forehead and craned his neck to look at the doorway. There was low murmurings coming from the hallway beyond. As he listened the voices grew louder and Ross’ brows furrowed as he tried to catch the words.

He recognised Marden and Luke’s voices, pitched low and anxious as they walked past the door. 

“There was a messenger at southern entrance,” Luke was saying, “they know where we are Marden and they won’t sit on the information for long. All of us here have defied Francis in some way or another. He’ll want to make examples of us.” Marden said nothing for a moment and Ross glanced down to find Jim peering up at him, arms still wrapped lovingly around Ross’ waist, his head pillowed under Ross’ chin. His eyes were alert and attentive as they both strained to hear any more of the conversation as the two men continued walking down the corridor. 

“Was anyone at the southern entrance hurt?” Marden asked. 

“Not as far as we can tell but they’re worried, Marden, and so am I.” Their voices faded as they moved out of Ross’ ear shot and he and Jim were left looking at one another in silence for a moment. 

“This is bad.” Jim murmured. Ross didn’t answer, the events of the previous day were running through his mind at a mile a minute. 

“He must have followed us for longer than we thought,” he said, “the man that chased us here yesterday must have seen us at the entrance and reported back,” he looked down at Jim, “we need to help them.” Jim nodded and pecked a quick kiss to Ross’ shoulder before pulling himself into a sitting position and reached down to pick up his shirt from where it had been discarded the previous night.

When they stumbled into the cooking area they were met with tired and drawn faces. Caine avoided eye contact. Circe stood beside the oven arms folded and fire in her stormy eyes. 

“How did they even find us?” She asked angrily. “We’ve protected those entrances for decades without a single break in and now they’re leaving messages like they’ve always known we’ve been here?” Ross spoke up. 

“They must have followed us yesterday when Caine, Jim and I made our way back here after the attack in the marketplace.” Caine’s eyes widened and she looked up at the ceiling, guilt evident on her face. 

“Oh god it’s all my fault,” she whispered, eyes screwed shut, “I should have made sure we lost him before I opened the flipping door and now Francis has a map to the whole base and he can do whatever he wants!” Luke placed a gently hand on her arm and squeezed before turning to look back at the rest of them.

“This is not the time to point the finger,” He said sternly, “what we need is a plan before the market opens. What are we going to do?” 

“How long have we got before the market opens?” Jim asked. 

“About two hours give or take. Francis will want an audience when he takes us down I’m sure of it.” 

“Ok, so what have we got in terms of defences?” Half constructed battle plans were blurring past Ross’ mind. He’d spent months studying every book aboard the Demeter. Of course they were pretty much all angled to fighting in the air but the basics were still the same. “We need defence and we need a plan for counter-attack. Do you have a plan for the tunnels? What goes where, secret entrances and exits?” Circe, Luke and Marden were looking at him in shock. Jim looked smug, proud and, Ross was sure, a little turned on. Ross held back a smug smile of his own and turned back to Luke. “Do you?” He prompted. 

“Yes. We do, I’ll get them now.” Circe answered quickly and disappeared down the tunnel. 

“As for defences,” Marden pushed off of the wall and gestured up the tunnel, “we have a weapons room down to the west. Caine has her workshop to the north, not that I can ever find anything in there but I’m sure she’s got some shit we can use.” Ross nodded and turned to Jim who’s eyes snapped up to meet his. Smug grin still fixed in place. Ross shook his head lightly. 

“Jim, go see what we have in the way of weapons?” Jim nodded and headed for the door. 

“Yes Sir.” He said softly, Marden considered his retreating back for a moment before following him. Caine and Luke left quickly afterwards, presumably to check on the triplets and Ross went back to the room he and Jim had shared to get his bag. He had some paper and a pen for notes.   
When he walked back to the kitchen Circe was busy spreading various pieces of paper over the wooden table, her hair tied into a knot at the nape of her neck. Ross sat down next to her without speaking. 

From the looks of the blueprints Circe found, the base had at least four main entrances, one in every direction and three secret entrances hidden under sewer lines and through two different archways in the market. 

“So Francis knows about two main entrances at least, the south and the one we used yesterday to the East. How do you protect these doors?” Ross circled the two entrances on the map. Circe bit her lips.

“Charms, mostly, concealing spells that make the door uninteresting to those who pass by.” Ross nodded. It was a good start. 

“Ok so, we reinforce the charms, pass out weapons and barricade all of the other entrances. Then we sit tight and wait.” It wasn’t a brilliant plan and Ross could see in her eyes that Circe had been expecting something better. “If we station people at all the doors and are overwhelmed then we’ll be surrounded,” he said softly, “but if we block of all other entrances and lead a straight on attack we might actually stand a chance.” He shrugged. It was all they had to work with but Ross was confident that it would work. Circe looked at him for a moment longer before climbing to her feet. 

“Okay then. I’ll go rally everyone together.” Ross nodded and the two of them made their way out of the room, Circe going one way and Ross the other to find Caine’s workshop.  
He followed the sounds of machinery clattering and found himself in the doorway of a large room filled to bursting with bits of scrap metal and other odds and ends. He could just make out the top of Caine’s head over the stacks and he gingerly made his way towards her. He was still a little unsure how to act around her after their conversation the previous night. Combined with the threat to her home, Ross was almost certain she would catch sight of him and immediately scream for him to leave her.   
Caine was fiddling with a small round object that glowed with a deep blue light. It hummed gently in her hands as she turned it over to peer at the underside. 

“Caine?” She looked up, surprise and anger flashing across her face before it seemed to melt into resignation. “I wondered if you needed any help.” Ross finished quietly. Caine looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Do you know anything about technology magic?” She asked sceptically. Ross felt himself flush.

“No. But I do know about technology,” he unbuttoned his coat and draped it over a stool, rolling his shoulders, “besides, everyone else was busy.” He tried for a smile which was tentatively reciprocated. Caine looked down at the object and handed it to him. Ross looked down at it.It was warm and pulsing slightly. 

“It’s the last bit of circuit I need for this.” She pointed at the machine that sat on the low table in front of her. It was little more than a hunk of metal with a cracked screen on its front and a collection of buttons, none of which were a match to one another, dotted along the sides. Ross frowned.

“Am I supposed to know what that is?” Caine huffed a laugh and fiddled with one of the buttons. 

“It’s a surveillance device… or at least it’s supposed to be. I’ve been trying to find a suitable power source for it - I’ve got drones, smaller machines, posted all around the docks. If I can get this bit working,” she gestured to the part Ross was holding, “then we’ll be able to see everywhere on the island without having to chance going outside.”

“Okay, so what have you tried already? Power wise?” Caine bit her lip and counted off her fingers.

“Natural gas, water pump... I even found some gasoline but the mechanisms are too delicate for anything we have…” Ross grinned. How ironic for a witch of light.

“Caine - you’ve heard of solar power?” She shook her head, mildly annoyed, Ross imagined, that he apparently knew something she didn’t.

“The sun is warm because of nuclear reactions going on on it’s surface. Well, it’s more complicated than that really but...anyway, you can use sunlight to power pretty much anything. It used to be a source of power before the war.”

“But how do we channel the sunlight?” Caine asked.

“Well, usually you need a solar panel over a long period of time but…” Caine’s expression cleared. She took the object back from him and placed it on the table next to the machine. 

“Witch of light, I got it. Okay uh….” Ross moved subtly backwards as Caine turned her full attention to the table. Once more she began to glow with a bright light, different to that of the day before. This light was softer, less harsh now that it wasn’t directed at him but equally as powerful. Ross felt his eyes start to sting and looked away. After a long few moments Ross heard a whimpering sound and his eyes snapped back to Caine who was almost doubled over with pain. The device’s glowing blue lights started to pulse faster, signalling that it was up and running and Ross tentatively reached out to touch Caine on the shoulder, her skin was uncomfortably warm through the fabric of her shirt but Ross ignored it, grabbing her by both shoulders and turning her to face him. He desperately tried to recall how Circe had calmed her down.

“Caine? The machine’s all powered up.” No reaction, tears started to leak from her eyes. Ross could feel his hands beging to burn but didn’t lift them. 

“Caine listen to my voice, Caine,” he noticed the burning start to lessen and sighed in relief, “that’s it, look at me.” The light faded and Caine gasped, falling forward into Ross’ shoulder. 

“Did we do it?” She wheezed. Ross nodded and stroked her hair. Ross looked at the circuit and nodded.

“Sure did. Are you okay? You need anything?” Caine shook her head and pulled herself upright with a grin.

“No I’m fine let’s just get this thing up and running.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys - so I'm at uni now. I'm actually doing a creative writing degree which is freaking awesome but it does mean degree writing comes first... so it's been ages, I'm sorry, making up for it with a lot of writing this Christmas I promise!
> 
> no beta so if there are mistakes please let me know xD xx

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired when I watched Hansel and Gretal Witch Hunters and by the Canoe and their obsession of 2witc murder and murder husbands" I got a thinking and voila!
> 
> Poets used!
> 
> Witchcraft By A Picture by John Donne  
> Go Catch A Falling Star by John Donne  
> A Nymph's Passion by Ben Jonson  
> Brave Soldier by Ridah Ellahi  
> Ice and Fire by Robert Frost
> 
> Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet


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